Journey's End
by Holy Chaos
Summary: A year after the failed wedding, the Nerima Wrecking Crew scattered to the winds. Now eight years later they are converging on Nerima once again and matters are going to be resolved, one way or another. Will Nerima survive is the question?
1. Journey's End 1

Ranma ½ Journey's End 

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is the property of the inestimable Takahashi Rumiko-sensei and is used without permission. This is a piece of fan fiction and no profit is being made off it.

                Tendo Nabiki casually walked down the streets of Nerima, pausing every so often to wipe the sweat from her brow. It was the middle of summer, and Tokyo and the rest of Japan sweltered under a heat wave. Had she been headed anywhere else, Nabiki would have taken an air-conditioned taxi to her destination, but walking through Nerima some how made it more real for Nabiki, renewing her attachment to the place where she had grown up. She took in the sights that had not changed since she left and sighed sadly. Nerima had died since the departure of the bunch of oddball martial artists collectively known as the Nerima Wrecking Crew had vanished, some how becoming a place frozen in time, waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever did any more.

                It had all started just after Ranma and Akane's final year at high school, the year after the failed wedding, a year of high tensions, passions running amok and desperate acts. Ever since the wedding, when it became apparent that, though they would not say it, Ranma and Akane truly did love each other, Ranma's fiancées and Akane's would be paramours grew more and more desperate in their attempts to break the couple up. Akane and Ukyo's tenuous friendship was strained to the absolute limit and often they were barely able to remain civil to each other, while Shampoo had done everything short of trying to murder both of them in their sleep and Kodachi's tricks had gotten dirtier and more dangerous.

                Kuno had been equally desperate, even going so far as to flout the law and openly carry a katana and it was only because of the fact that his image as a noble samurai warrior had to be maintained that no one ever got hurt in those fights. Ryoga's attacks had also taken on a desperate, vicious edge and at times it seemed that the lost boy was about to lose his increasingly fragile grip on sanity. The only positive thing there had been that, for reasons known only to himself, Mousse had called a truce with Ranma and though they were far from the best of friends, the two were actually polite to each other, though at times that too had been strained and almost fell back into feuding on more than one occasion. Personally Nabiki found it something of a miracle that those of the wrecking crew who attended school managed to graduate and it had seemed only a matter of time until there was a fatality. Then, the day after graduation, Ranma vanished.

                It came as a complete surprise to everyone; especially Nabiki and she had fumed about being tricked. Everyone had searched high and low for the Jusenkyo cursed, pig-tailed martial artist, but no one was able to find him. The only two people who had seemed absolutely unconcerned were Genma and Akane. When questioned over his lack of worry, Genma only replied why should he worry, since Ranma knew perfectly well how to take care of himself. Akane's calm acceptance was odder, but when questioned, she only smiled and said that Ranma had left her a note, and while it didn't say where he had gone, it told her all she needed to know. She had swallowed the note after committing it to memory and she refused to give any details about it. Then, two days before the results of the university entrance exams came out, Akane vanished as well.

                Nabiki had expected that her father would break down in tears as he normally did, but he took the incident with an astonishing degree of equanimity. Akane had also left a note, though this one was for public consumption and had been left stuck to the fridge door with a magnet. It said, "I go to find the questions for the answers I already know." That cryptic parting message had apparently been enough to assure Soun about Akane's safety, though it had not kept Nabiki or Kasumi from worrying. Nabiki had used every contact that she had, some of them perfectly legal, some only quasi-legal at best, to try and find her, but the search for Akane was equally fruitless as the one for Ranma had been.

                That had been the turning point. A week later Mousse left without a word of explanation to anyone. Ryoga had shown up a month after that, had the situation explained to him and shown Akane's cryptic note. His only reply had been a noncommittal grunt and no one had seen or heard from him since. Not long after that, Ucchan's was found closed with only a note from Ukyo saying she had business in Okinawa. Konatsu left a few days later, heading for somewhere in Hokkaido. A few weeks after the closing of Ucchan's, Shampoo had left for parts unknown, though Cologne stayed and a few other Amazons came along to help her run the place. Eventually, the only members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew left were the Kuno siblings and they rattled around in their mansion like ghosts, all noise and no substance.

                It had not just been the Nerima Wrecking Crew that had left though, Ranma's friends Hiroshi and Daisuke had left to attend university, as had Akane's friends Yuka and Saiyuri. Hinako-sensei was transferred to another school, though she and Soun still kept in touch, Gosunkugi Hikaru gave up photography, denounced voodoo and left to become a priest at a mountain shrine and all the others that had hovered at the edges of the ongoing saga that had been Ranma's life gradually drifted away. Even Happosai was rarely seen any more and Nabiki herself had moved closer to campus in her second year. The only real highlight of life in Nerima since Ranma's departure had been Dr. Tofu's return and his proposal to Kasumi. She had accepted of course and now they both lived at the Tendo home, Tofu making the brief walk to his clinic every morning.

                Nabiki herself had not been idle either. Moving closer to campus and reducing the daily commute had given her a lot more free time, and she had decided to use the extra time to take the accelerated course. Her degree had been a business degree of course and not only had she finished the accelerated course, she had graduated _sume cum luade_, just in time for the Market Crisis of 2004. Due to a number of various reasons, the American stock market had crashed catastrophically and that sent shockwaves rippling through the rest of the financial world. Japan's market had almost gone the same way as America's, but it had also been an opportunity for great gain if one was willing to take the risks. Nabiki, the ink on her diploma still wet so to speak, had risked everything and her gamble succeeded. Nabiki's incredible gamble, and the ventures of a few other equally brave souls had been encouragement enough that the market was kept from utter collapse, though it had been a close thing. The reward of course was that in a nation where business was still dominated by men, Nabiki stood above the heads of most men.

                It had also been during those, wild, desperate days of riding the whirlwind of an economy spiralling out of control, that Nabiki had met Shinta. Rare were the men not scared off by Nabiki's drive and ambition, and most of those saw Nabiki as a rival at best, or a hated enemy at worst. Shinta, an aspiring young architect, had no reason to see her as enemy or rival, nor had he been frightened away by her ambition. "What is the reason for dreaming, if you don't dream big," he had once said to her. Their romance was slow and measured, like the steps of an old fashioned dance, Shinta reaching out past the ice queen facade that Nabiki had cultivated so long, it had almost become reflex, till one, long, glorious night they had spent in each other's arms. It was their first time together, and their last. The next day, as Nabiki waved goodbye and Shinta crossed the street, a driver lost control of his car. There was nothing Nabiki could do as he died in her arms.

                That moment had almost destroyed her. She had retreated into herself, and all that she had built threatened to fall through her fingers and she didn't care. Then her brother-in-law gave her a piece of news that she had not expected. She was pregnant. That had been all the incentive that Nabiki needed and she through herself back into her work, vowing that her child would have a mother to be proud of. Nine month's later she gave birth to healthy baby girl she named Ai. Ai was currently staying with her paternal grandparents, though the energetic little four year old was disappointed at not getting to see her cousin, Kasumi and Tofu's son Kazuma, who currently couldn't decide wether he wanted to be a world famous doctor, or a world famous chef.

                Nabiki paused a moment to put a few coins into a vending machine and punched the button for a can of juice. As she rolled the can over her forehead, she wondered if they would get another postcard. Though Ranma and Akane were unable to be found, about six month's after their respective departures, postcards and letters started arriving at the Tendo dojo, some from Ranma, some from Akane. They almost immediately nixed the idea that they had agreed to meet up together somewhere after they pulled their vanishing acts. A month or so after Akane's first postcard arrived, two postcards arrived, one from Ranma, another from Akane. They were both bore the same date, but Ranma's was from Rio de Janeiro and Akane's was from Sri Lanka, the postmarks bearing both out. They arrived intermittently and occasionally included parcels containing birthday and Christmas gifts. Nabiki didn't know how they found out, but they had also sent cards on condolence for Shinta's death, arriving only days after the funeral, and presents for both the birth of Kazuma and Ai.

                Nabiki took a long swig from the can, savouring the cool feel of the juice sliding down her throat and the sweet tang on her tongue. As she lowered the can, she caught sight of a familiar face, though one she had not seen for a long time. He was nearly a block down the road and about to turn the corner, so Nabiki placed the can on top of the vending machine, abandoned dignity and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Hiroshi!"

                The figure paused and looked in her direction. "Nabiki?" came a surprised reply, made faint by the distance.

                Nabiki nodded and waved that he should join her, then retrieved her can of juice and headed to meet Hiroshi. "Hiroshi, it's been along time," she said as they came close enough to each other to talk without shouting. "What's the premiere sports writer in all of Tokyo doing in Nerima? I thought that you had an apartment somewhere over in Sumo Town."

                "I did," Hiroshi admitted. "Please note the past tense. Then for some reason I got a yearning to see the old place again, decided to hell with the commute and moved back. I'd ask what you're doing here, but I know, since your father and Kasumi still live here. I ran into them earlier this morning and I must say, you're nephew promises to be a real heartbreaker when he grows up. Might even give Ranma a run for his money."

                "Please, spare me," Nabiki said, rolling her eyes dramatically. "I don't think I could live through that all again."

                Hiroshi nodded thoughtfully. "I know what you mean. Things were getting really out of control at the end there. I used to enjoy watching the fights, but towards the end they were getting plain scary and every time one started, I was looking for cover."

                "I wouldn't say that things were out of control," Nabiki objected. "If they had been really out of control, none of us would have known what hit us. Still, things were very tense."

                "That they were," Hiroshi agreed. "As bad as it was though, everything seemed to stop once Ranma left though, and I don't just mean the fights. I mean everything. It was if the life had gone completely out of the place."

                Nabiki nodded thoughtfully. "I was just thinking the same thing earlier."

                The conversation would have gone on longer, but just then Hiroshi's watch beeped and he made his apologies, since he had a train to catch and couldn't afford to be late. He finished up with an invitation for Nabiki to join him for lunch at the Nekohanten one day to catch up on old times.

                As he left, Nabiki felt some of her energy return, despite the sapping heat. Hiroshi hadn't really contributed much to the dynamic of Nerima, mainly just hormonal comments about Ranma's female form, or agreeing to the same when said by his partner in puberty, Daisuke, but with his return, Nerima seemed just a little bit more alive again, as if gaining energy from memories of days past. With a renewed spring in her step, Nabiki continued on her way to the dojo. The closer she got to the dojo, though, the more things seemed different, as if the air were charged like before a thunderstorm. It wasn't just that Hiroshi was back, it was something more. Something had changed and things were coming back to life again. Mrs. Katsuragi, older and more wizened than ever was ladling water of the stones of the footpath, something she had not done for the last few, years, the strains of ukulele music could be heard coming from the school as she passed it and other, more subtle clues that didn't truly register on a conscious level. 

                Arriving at the dojo, still with the same old sign directing challengers to the back entrance, Nabiki walked on in. She had already phoned ahead to say that she was coming on Friday instead of Saturday, so she knew that Kasumi was expecting her. As she took of her shoes at the front door, she noticed a pair of shoes there that she didn't recognise. There were Kasumi's sensible, heelless shoes, Tofu's equally sensible plain shoes, though he didn't wear them much, her father's larger sandals and Kazuma's smaller ones that he wore when not going to or from school and a pair of well worn hiking shoes that looked like they had some tales to tell, judging by the wear and tear. Nabiki recognised the brand, even under all the dust, and they had only come on the market a few years ago, so they had seen some pretty serious use.

                Wondering who on Earth could be visiting, Nabiki walked straight into the living room, finding Kasumi, Tofu and Soun sitting out the table with a figure she didn't immediately recognise. The figure was about the same height as Nabiki, with dark hair that had been bleached by the sun and well tanned. She wore a t-shirt that had once been blue but had bleached out until it was almost white, with slightly tattered edges where the sleeves had been removed, a pair of cut off jeans that rode low on the hips and socks that had once been white, but were now a dirty grey. The woman was well muscled, without looking like a body builder, just enough body fat to soften the lines and give her some nice curves. Her sun-bleached hair had been pulled back in a single, thin ponytail that reached almost to the floor and a bright yellow ribbon kept it out of her eyes. It was the eyes that finally gave it away and Nabiki, in a rare moment of complete shock, stared opened mouth at her younger sister. "Akane! When? How? Where? Why? What?"

                Akane laughed and stood, embracing Nabiki. "It's good to see you to neechan. Sorry for startling you, but I wanted it to be a surprise."

                Nabiki finally got control of herself, and hugged Akane back fiercely, a little surprised at the strength of Akane's grip. The youngest Tendo daughter had always been strong, but Nabiki could feel not only the strength that Akane was using, but the amount that she was holding back as well, which was even more startling. "It's good to see you imouto-chan," was all Nabiki could say, her voice hoarse with emotion. "When did you get back?"

                "I just got back to Japan the other day and it was too late to reach Nerima, so I stayed overnight at a hotel. I got here not half an hour ago, but when Tofu rang to tell you, all he got was your answering machine."

                "I decided to leave a little early to beat the heat."

                Soun cleared his throat. "Perhaps it might be easier if we all sat down and Akane could tell her story from the beginning," he suggested.

                "Just let me get something cool to drink first," Kasumi said, rising. "I'm sure we'd all be more comfortable with something to cool off."

                As she left the room Akane looked around. "I know it's a bit on the warm side, but it's not that hot is it?"

                Tofu just looked at her. "Akane, it's over thirty degrees outside, and there's not a breath of air. Are you honestly telling me that you're not hot?"

                Akane nodded decisively, and then grinned a little sheepishly. "On the road you learn how to ignore the weather. Hot, cold, rain, snow, there doesn't seem to be all that much difference after a while."

                Kasumi returned at that point, carrying a tray with five glasses, all filled to the brim with lemonade and so cold that water was condensing on their sides. Kasumi handed the glasses out and Soun gestured that Akane should begin.

                Akane sat, thinking for a moment, her eyes taking on a distant look. "It all began after the failed wedding attempt," she said reflectively. "I'm pretty sure you all noticed that things started going downhill after that fairly fast. Ranma and I just wanted to be left alone to sort out what we felt for each other, but no one would leave us alone. I'll admit that there were times that I just wanted to grab Ukyo and beat the living daylights out of her and on occasions it was all I could do not to throttle Shampoo.

                "It wasn't just them though. I loved Ranma, and I'm pretty certain that he loved me back, but we couldn't get married, not like we were. Everything was just too uneven. It wasn't just that he was a better martial artist than me; it seemed like everything I tried to do, he was better at and I just couldn't bear the thought of spending the rest of my life in his shadow, or anyone else's. I probably took it out on him more than he deserved and I'm not proud of that, but I won't deny it either. Then, just when I was sure the next fight was going to put someone in the hospital, or maybe even the morgue, Ranma left. Some of what was on the note he left for me was private, and I'm still not going to say anything about it, but part of it was a list of places he had heard about that could help me. So, after a while I decided to look some of them up, making sure I went to the ones out of Japan first. I must have spent what seemed like three years at this little place in the foothills of the Himalayas and then from there, I started wandering all over the place. All across Asia, into Europe, down into Africa. I've been almost everywhere but Antarctica. Eventually I decided that it was time to return home, and here I am."

                Nabiki frowned. "Wait a minute Akane. You spent three years somewhere in India, but we've got postcards from that time saying you were in Paris, or another from Indonesia. You can't have spent three years there."

                Akane smiled. "I said it seemed like three years, I never said it was three years. I'd like to tell you more, but there are secrets I am bound not to reveal."

                Nabiki was about to object, when Soun raised his hand. "If your sister has promised not to tell, then she will not tell. I have heard of places like this, where only those who swear to keep their secrets may learn what they offer."

                Tofu agreed. "Some of the places I studied demanded similar things from me, and usually for very good reason. Some of the things I learnt are not for public consumption."

                Nabiki frowned but said nothing and everyone lapsed into silence for several moments until Kasumi spoke up. "Still Akane, that seems a very bare bones description. Surely more must have happened than that."

                Akane grinned. "True," she admitted. "But even just touching on the high points is a very long story. It's been eight years after all, and some of the stuff wouldn't be believed by anyone who hasn't lived in Nerima. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

                "Spill already," Nabiki insisted. "After an introduction like that, I'm really curious. So start talking."

                Akane took a long swig of her lemonade and then sat back in a relaxed posture that suggested she wasn't kidding about it being a long story. Her eyes unfocussed somewhat and she began to speak; calling forth memories that had dulled slightly with the years and began to weave a tale that swept everyone away.

                Khu Lon, Matriarch of the Joketsu Amazons, though better known locally as Cologne, sighed as she looked out over the empty restaurant. Business was not as brisk as it had once been, and the unseasonable heat had driven most people in search of cooler food for their luncheon break, rather than a big, steaming bowl of ramen. It was times like this that she wondered if she had made a mistake in keeping the Nekohanten open after her great-granddaughter's departure. Business was much slower than it had been for years, and like many others who had lived through the era of the Nerima Wrecking Crew and had stayed on after their diaspora, Cologne found that the life had gone out of the place.

                The Nekohanten had originally been little more than a way of providing a base of operations from which Shampoo could conduct her campaign for Ranma's hand in matrimony. Still Cologne found that running the place had given her back some of her youthful energy, as well as a safe vantage point from which to observe the continual parade of characters who passed by the door. Eventually Cologne bowed out of the situation all together and devoted her energies entirely to the restaurant. Even after Ranma's departure, followed by Mousse's and Shampoo's, not to mention several others, she had kept the restaurant open as a way of keeping the tribe in touch with the rest of the world. But gradually business declined and most of her tribal sisters lost interest in the venture, the only two staying being Liu Shun, who had picked up the name Lotion, a chef who found too little scope to exercise her talents in the village, and Jia La, or Gel, Mousse's cousin who wasn't quite as blind as he was, but still useless without her glasses and with almost no interest in becoming a warrior. There were times when Cologne was almost ready to call everything quits and head back to the village, and would have several years ago if it hadn't been for the fact that the village no longer felt like home.

                Her morose ponderings were interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps entering the restaurant. The originator of those sounds was a young man, perhaps in his mid-twenties, tall and powerfully built. He wore heavy working boots that rose up to mid calf over thick, canvas trousers of an indeterminate buff colour. His shirt was a faded yellow, tight over his chest and arms, allowing well-defined muscles to show through and over that he wore a grey canvas great coat with a number of large pockets sewn into it. His hair was short, little more than fuzz, like it had been shaved off and was only starting to grow back, which made Cologne wonder why the man wore a bandanna around his forehead. It wasn't until she took note of the black and yellow pattern of the bandanna that she realised who the man was, and a quick glance at red paper umbrella resting atop his pack confirmed it and Cologne felt herself grinning.

                "Well, well, well," she said, grabbing her staff and hoping over to the door. "If it isn't Hibiki Ryoga showing up on my doorstep after nearly eight years without so much as a word to anyone. Of course there's always the chance that you couldn't find a telephone booth or post office."

                Ryoga grinned, his fangs dimpling his lower lip. "It's good to see you too Old Ghoul," he said. "It's nice to finally see a familiar face. I was beginning to wonder if everyone I knew in Nerima had up and left."

                "It seems like it sometimes," Cologne agreed. "Pull up a seat my boy, and have a meal. It's been a long time since someone has come in here with something interesting to tell. What have you been up to all these years?"

                Ryoga's smile grew even broader as he dumped his pack and coat on the floor. Judging by the dull thud both made when they landed, Cologne was fairly certain that their sheer weight was security measure enough, especially in Japan, a place with one of the lowest street crime rates in the world. Before the fanged martial artist could speak, Cologne held up one hand. "Liu Shun! One deluxe ramen, hold the pork! Saotome size!"

                There was a momentary, startled pause from the kitchen and then, "One Saotome size deluxe ramen, hold the pork, coming up!"

                Ryoga chuckled. "Saotome size?"

                Cologne grinned back. "It's been eight years since he left, and I still haven't met anyone who can eat as much as that boy. But this isn't about him, this is about you. Eight years is a long time for someone to get lost, even you."

                "True," Ryoga agreed, leaning back in his chair, and causing a few, slightly ominous creaks. "But that hasn't been a problem for nearly seven years now. I got both my curses cured. Jusenkyo and my problems with directions."

                Cologne had been around long enough to learn how to control her actions, so she merely raised a surprised eyebrow instead of letting her eyes bug out of her head. "No mean trick," she said. "Both at once, or separately?"

                "Separately, though it was the same person who cured me in both cases."

                "I take it them you found someone with a large degree of proficiency in the magical arts then."

                "She preferred the term sorceress, but yes."

                "May I ask how she did it?"

                Ryoga shrugged. "I don't know all the details, and most of the explanation went over the top of my head. I'm a martial artist, not a magician, but as I understand it, Dame Morrigan didn't actually cure my directional curse. Instead she tied what she called a countering gift onto it, cancelling the effects out. Now I'm no better or worse than an average person."

                "So it was indeed a true curse and not just a spectacularly bad sense of direction?"

                Ryoga nodded. "One of my ancestors must have annoyed a powerful magic user many generations ago. For reasons that escape me completely the curse dies out in a generation or two when one of us marries into another family, but actually infects those who marry into the family after a few years. Dame Morrigan said that it must have been someone very powerful and skilled for the curse to have lasted so long."

                "And your Jusenkyo curse?"

                Ryoga beamed at the mention of that. "P-chan is no more. Dame Morrigan refused to tell me how she managed it, but she successfully removed the Jusenkyo curse about six months after she cleared up my sense of direction."

                Cologne nodded. The sort of magic required to neutralise a Jusenkyo curse, let alone remove it completely, was best kept secret, even from the one having the curse removed, for if it should fall into the wrong hands, it could create another Jusenkyo, or possibly even worse. Out loud she said, "Of course this all begs the question, who is this Dame Morrigan to whom you keep referring?"

                Before Ryoga could answer Gel came out of the kitchen balancing a massive ramen bowl on a tray. She walked carefully over to the table where Ryoga and Cologne were sitting and placed it in front of the ex-Lost Boy. "Please enjoy meal and thank you eating at Nekohanten," she said in broken Japanese worse than Shampoo's had ever been, bowing as she did so. Then, before Ryoga could say anything, she backed away and disappeared into the kitchen.

                "Amazon?" Ryoga asked, grabbing a pair of disposable chopsticks from the centre of the table and easily separating them.

                Cologne nodded as Ryoga dug into his ramen. "After Shan Pu left, I persuaded some of the other members of the tribe to come work here for a time, to gain experience in the outside world. Most grew rather disenchanted with it after a while and now Jia La and Liu Shan are the only ones left. And in case you thought she looked familiar, Jia La is Muu Tsu's cousin."

                Ryoga paused in his eating long enough to nod his understanding and then continued with his meal. The enormous bowl was half empty when he spoke again. "You asked who Dame Morrigan was right?"

                Cologne nodded.

                "She's a Knight-Errant of the Order of the Bladeless Sword. They're a group of magic users who formed about four centuries ago in Europe. I never did manage to find out what they actually do, but Morrigan hired me as a sort of bodyguard while she searched for some mystic artefact for the Order. I don't know what it does, or why they wanted it, heck I can't even remember what the damned thing's called, but it was pretty good and kept me busy for about a year and a half."

                "And the rest of the time?"

                "The usual sort of thing for a wandering martial artist," Ryoga replied with a faint grin and a slight shrug. "Training in the mountains, entering the occasional tournament and getting mixed up in things I'd much rather avoid. Apart from the tournaments, it was a lot like things here in Nerima, just the scenery and names changed more often. I even managed to revise the Shi Shi Hokoudan so that it no longer uses depression as a focus."

                "Oh?" Cologne said, impressed despite herself. That simple statement carried to very important messages with it. First was the fact that Ryoga was now at the level were he was revising and creating his own special techniques, rather than just learning what had been devised by others, something only Ranma had managed amongst his contemparies before they had scattered to the winds. Second was the fact that not only had Ryoga broken the vicious cycle of depression that fed on itself necessary to make the full use of the Shi Shi Hokoudan, something that often drove the users eventually into madness, suicide or a complete withdrawal from reality, but also that he had found something with which to replace it, putting him on much more stable emotional footing, at least potentially. "So what do you use as your focus now?" she asked curiously.

                "Hope," Ryoga replied. "Hope that no matter what happens, tomorrow will be a better day. Hope that if just one person can make a difference, the world will become a better place. Hope that good will eventually triumph over evil. I still call it the Shi Shi Hokoudan though. I suppose I should call it the revised Shi Shi Hokoudan, but I'd feel silly yelling that out in the middle of a battle."

                This got a grin from Cologne. And it gave her a sense of satisfaction. Choosing that particular focus had its drawbacks, and hope could be a very fragile thing at times, but there were definitely worse things in the world than unbridled optimism. "So do you think that this new Shi Shi Hokoudan of yours is enough to overcome Ranma's Mokou Takabisha?" she asked. "Just out of curiosity."

                "I don't know," Ryoga admitted with a shrug, swallowing a mouthful of ramen. "I've managed to get it pretty strong, but Ranma's ego was a powerful thing, and from what I've heard in my journeys, that is one thing that hasn't changed in the slightest."

                "So you kept in touch with Ranma?"

                "Not really. It was mostly rumours and second and third hand stories that had altered with the telling."

                Cologne digested all this information as Ryoga continued to make inroads of his meal, eating quickly, but quietly. But one thing drew kept drawing her attention, even while she tried to think. Ryoga's hair. When he had left Nerima, he had been possessed of a fairly thick mop of head, and the current state of his hair was too long for him to hake taken up shaving it as some were wont to do, yet the evenness of the cut suggested more than a simple accident. "Tell me Ryoga," she said casually. "What happened to your hair?"

                That actually managed to get a blush out of him. "It's kind of embarrassing," he admitted.

                "I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

                Ryoga smiled a little sadly. "I've caused enough trouble with promises like that. It's not that bad anyhow. A few months ago, I had a run in with a vat of some sort of depilatory. It actually causes hair to dissolve, right down to the roots if you let it work long enough. It dissolved my hair and eyebrows, but I was able to wash it off quickly enough that they are starting to grow back, but the rest of me wasn't so lucky." He held up a hand at slightly below chin height. "Bald as an egg from here down."

                Cologne covered her mouth with one hand to help suppress the snicker that rose unbidden from her throat. "Oh my," she managed to get out, borrowing a phrase from Kasumi.

                "I get that a lot," Ryoga said and then drank the last of his ramen broth. Putting the bowl down he said, "What do I owe you for the meal?"

                Cologne waved one hand in dismissal of payment. "On the house, for old time's sake. This place has become so dull that anything new is worth the price of a meal at least."

                "Are you sure?"

                "I'm sure, I'm sure. Business may not be great, but its not that bad yet."

                "Well thanks. I'd better do find a place to say if I'm going to stick around for a few days."

                "Wait a moment," Cologne said. "If you're planning on staying for a while, we have some spare space. When more of our tribal sisters were working here, we hired an extra apartment to give them all room to stay and we still have it. You'll have to share with Liu Shan, but you'll at least have your own room."

                Ryoga pondered it for a moment. "All right," he said. "But I insist that you let me pay rent for while I'm staying there. I don't want to be a freeloader."

                "I'm sure we can work something out," Cologne assured him. "I'll show you the way." She then turned and raised her voice. "Liu Shan! I'll be gone for a few minutes. Take over out front!"

                It was indeed a short walk to the apartment, and it was on the bottom floor so there were no worries about the floor being able to take the combined weight of Ryoga's pack, coat and umbrella. "Are you sure Lotion won't mind?" Ryoga asked, already mangling the Amazon chef's name into a bathroom product.

                "Are you kidding? A guinea pig with an iron constitution to test new recepies on, she'll be ecstatic. Now I must be getting back. Liu Shan's Japanese isn't much better than Shan Pu's was and its best if I handle the customers. Liu Shan should be home some time around nine or ten, so make yourself at home until then."

                As Cologne left, bouncing away on her staff, Ryoga turned and began retrieving items from his back and the pockets of his coat and placing them around the empty room.

                At the same time as Ryoga was settling into to his temporary accommodations and Akane was regaling her family with stories of her exploits a man was going through customs at Narita airport. He was taller than Ryoga, with long, glossy black hair tied into a number of braids that were pinned up, twisted and then pinned up again. He wore loose, white silk robes that reached down to his shins with wide, open sleeves, loose, pale blue drawstring trousers of the same material and shoes made of leather so soft that it almost seemed to be cloth. What most people noticed about him first though was his face, or more specifically, the black leather patch over his left eye.

                He walked up the customs counter and waited, as the line seemed to move forward at a crawl. Narita may have been one of the largest airports in Japan, but it never seemed to have enough facilities to handle the massive numbers of people that went through it. Though from the experiences of the one eyed man, it was far from unique in that respect. He finally got to the front of the line and walked to one of the customs desks, handing over his passport.

                "Business or personal?" the receptionist asked in a voice that suggested that she had said that phrase far too many times already today and would have to keep saying it far more often that she would like until the day was over.

                "Personal," the man replied.

                The receptionist marked his passport, than really looked at it for the first time. She noted his name, Muu Tsu, written in both pinyin and Chinese characters, looked at the photo and then looked at the line stating citizenship. "You'll forgive me sir, but I must say that you look neither Irish or Moroccan."

                Mousse smiled at that. "It's a long story. I've been travelling for a few years and for a number of reasons the Chinese government revoked my citizenship. I had some friends in both Ireland and Morocco who arranged for me to get dual citizenship in both countries. It may sound a bit far fetched, but the passport is legitimate, I assure you."

                The receptionist accepted his word and continued going through the procedures, but it had been enough to lift her out of the monotonous routine of her job for a moment and Mousse was sure that he would be the talk of the lunchroom for the next several days at least, maybe even longer if things hit a particularly dull stretch. He went through the rest of the customs procedure without too much hassle and finally headed for the baggage exchange to collect his minimal luggage. As he was waiting for his travel pack to show up, he thought he caught sight of a familiar face, but couldn't be sure in the crowd.

                Flicking his gaze between the baggage carousel and the possibly familiar person, he tried to edge closer. The press of bodies meant that he was largely unsuccessful. He could have done it other ways of course, but that would have just drawn unnecessary attention to him and possibly frighten off the person he was trying to get to. Still Mousse was successful enough that when he was close enough to get a better look as the person bent down to retrieve several pieces of luggage and that was enough. Mousse was certain that he knew them. He was fortunate that his travel back arrived at that moment and he was able to snag it and follow straight away.

                He waited till he was close enough so that he didn't have to shout to get their attention. "Konatsu!" he called, raising his voice just enough to be make it clear over the background noise. The person he was following turned towards him and Mousse blushed in embarrassment as he realised that the person in front of him was not the cross-dressing kunoichi. For one thing, this person was most definitely female in a way that not even the most skilled cross-dresser could fake. "My apologies miss," he said, backing off slightly. "I'm afraid I mistook you for someone else."

                "No you didn't Mousse-san," Konatsu replied with a demure smile. "It's me."

                Mousse frowned and pulled a monocle from inside his sleeve, holding it up to his eye. The surgery meant that he only really needed it for reading, but there were times it was better to be safe than sorry. The face was definitely very similar, but there were subtle differences, especially around the hips and elbows that said that the person in front of him was definitely female. Those were differences in skeletal structure that no surgeon could counterfeit and despite the appearance, the Konatsu that Mousse knew was possessed of a Y chromosome. "Konatsu? Is that really you?"

                Konatsu nodded. "It's good to see you as well Mousse-san."

                Mousse nodded, still frowning. "I don't mean to pry," he said quietly, trusting in the kunoichi (apparently in fact as well as name now) had sufficiently sharp hearing to make out what he was saying. "But what happened to you? Last I saw you were a guy and now you're definitely a woman, and this was no surgeon's job."

                "You're quite right," Konatsu replied. "It's probably easier if we go somewhere private to talk though. I know somewhere we can go without being overhead."

                Mousse nodded and Konatsu led the way to one of the airports attached to the airport, and more specifically into a little restaurant that was part of the hotel. The restaurant had clearly been built with people who wanted privacy in mind, and Konatsu led Mousse to secluded booth where it was highly unlikely that anyone would be able to get close enough to them to hear anything without being noticed. A waiter appeared as if out of nowhere and took their orders, green tea for Konatsu and oolong tea for Mousse. When he was gone, Mousse leaned back and spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. "So, what happened?"

                Konatsu's reply was just as soft as Mousse's question, but the Master of the Hidden Weapons style had fairly acute hearing himself. "Nyannichuan."

                Mousse cocked his head in confusion. "I thought that was one of the springs that was destroyed when Jusenkyo flooded, along with the Nannichuan."

                "They were," Konatsu agreed. "But the Musk had considered such a possibility, especially as their culture requires the springs to continue. They have enough Nyannichuan water stockpiled to last them several centuries, though no Nannichuan water. Someone once stall a small keg of it from them. The person who actually did it was eventually caught and cursed and locked and made the bride of one of the Musk warriors, but they were able to pass the keg on to someone else. I found it and returned it to them, after using just enough to curse myself."

                "How did you get away without one of them trying to make you his bride?" Mousse asked, rather surprised. The fact that very few women would willingly have anything to do with the Musk meant that when one of them entered Musk territory, they were rarely allowed to leave again. The only reason Herb hadn't become the bride of one of his own warriors when he had been accidentally locked in his cursed form was that, male or female, he was still powerful enough to make anyone who tried it very sorry.

                "They assumed that I was still male," Konatsu said simply. "When I first went to them, they didn't believe me when I said that I was actually male, so I had to strip to prove that it was a disguise. Once I became cursed, they didn't have any reason to assume that I wasn't a man in drag."

                "Clever," Mousse said. "Though I do have another question. Are you actually locked, or can you still change."

                "Oh, I can change," Konatsu said. "I wasn't about to attempt to try and steal the Chiitsuon, not when it was hanging from Herb's belt. I could have done it, but it would have caused more trouble than it was worth. I do use waterproof soap though to help stay like this. The Jusenkyo Salesman is still doing a brisk business in some items, even if the springs themselves are almost all flooded."

                The waiter arrived at that point with their tea and they fell silent for a few moments as he placed them on the table and enquired if they would require anything else. They assured him that they would not, and he left as unobtrusively as he arrived.

                Konatsu took a sip of her tea and then put it back down. "Now, if you wouldn't mind Mousse-san, I would like to ask you a question. What happened to your eye?"

                Mousse sat and thought for a moment, still sipping at his tea. When he put it down there was an odd look in his good eye. He looked around for a second, just to make sure that no one was watching and then lifted one hand to both lift the eye patch and shield his face from everyone but Konatsu's view. He lifted the patch to reveal a perfectly normal looking pair of eyelids behind it. Then he opened them.

                The first impression got was of a pearl floating on a pool of mercury, for that was exactly what the glowing white orb surrounded by a field of silver that filled the rest of the eye socket looked like. Then the orb unfurled, like a flower budding at high speed. As it unfurled, each of the glowing 'petals' changed from pure white, slowing gaining colour, like a soft, pearlescent rainbow spiralling inwards. At the very centre, tiny little peaks of light seemed to rise, glittering with the reflected colours of the 'petals' and dancing like figures in a tiny ballet. Konatsu's hands were raised demurely to her mouth to cover the 'o' of surprise and her eyes were wide with astonishment.

                "What was that?" she breathed as the petals furled themselves up once more into a white sphere and Mousse closed his eyes, letting the eyepatch settle back into place.

                "It's called the Eye of the Infinite," Mousse said, making sure the eyepatch was sitting in place properly before taking another sip of his tea. "The story of exactly how I got it is a very long one, but it is magical in nature. I'm not certain of the full extent of its power, but I do know that it can see through any illusion, no matter what, among other things."

                "Was having it replace your original eye painful?" Konatsu asked, prompted by the same sort of morbid fascination that makes people pick as scabs and rubberneck at accidents.

                Mousse shook his head, making his braids swing. "It didn't actually replace my eye. What happened was the power of the Eye of the Infinite... infected my eye for lack of a better word, and changed it into what it is now. Apart from a bit of numbness around the eye socket, I didn't feel anything."

                After that, both of them continued to drink their tea for several moments, until Konatsu spoke up. "May I ask where you're heading now that you're back in Japan?"

                "Actually I'm heading back to Nerima," Mousse said. "From what I hear, Cologne's still running the Nekohanten there. I've had enough wandering around for a while and I though it might be nice to actually stay in the one place for more than a few weeks."

                "I understand," Konatsu said. "I'm going back myself. I never actually spent much time there, but even after all these years, it still feels like home. 

                "Even more so than the village," Mousse agreed. "Who knows. If we get lucky, we might even see some of the rest of the old gang while we're there. I mean, what were the odds of us meeting in a crowded airport like this."

                "Mousse-san, if there is one thing I learned while I lived in Nerima, it is this. When it comes to Nerima and those who live it in, the odds have nothing to do with it."

                If there was one thing that Shampoo hated about Japan, it was the public transport system, specifically the Tokyo metropolitan subways. Some of the architecture, especially in the big cities, laid far to much emphasis on function opposed to aesthetics in her opinion, but it wasn't anything that she couldn't live with. Part of her also thought that there was far too much fish in the average Japanese diet, but that was counterbalanced by the fact in feline form she was quite content to eat nothing but fish. The sexism she also encountered amongst a large portion of the male population was also extremely annoying, but it usually took only one quick demonstration to change their opinions of her, regardless of what they thought of women in general. But what she couldn't stand was the fact that if one wanted to go anywhere in the Tokyo area that was further away than convenient walking distance, then one was obliged to be squashed into a train carriage that was filled with at least three times the number of people it had designed to carry.

                It wasn't only the close crowding that got to Shampoo when riding the subway, though that was a large part of it. The rest of it was the annoying perverts who used the extremely close quarters to cop a feel. Shampoo understood that sometimes it was accidental and in such cramped conditions people's hands sometimes wind up in places other than where they had intended. Those were usually withdrawn with a murmured apology and she let them go. Some of them were far from accidental though, even if the perpetrators tried to pass it off as such. Shampoo could tell the difference though and even is she was denied the full movement of her limbs, that hadn't stopped her from sending the last three miscreants off with broken fingers. Shampoo was quite proud of her figure and was not averse to basking in the admiring stares of those around her, but unsolicited gropes were an entirely different matter.

                It was with great relief that Shampoo disembarked when the train at her station, breaking the fingers of a fourth opportunist as she stepped onto the platform. She worked her way over to one side of the crowd and stretched once she had the room to swing her arms, working the kinks out of them. An instant later her danger sense kicked in and she stepped to one side and the man whose fingers she had just broken charged her. He skidded forward a couple of metres before checking his rush and turning around and facing Shampoo again. "You bitch!" he growled. "You broke my fingers."

                Shampoo just gave him an arch look and replied, "It wouldn't have happened if you had kept your hands to yourself. Next time you try and grope a woman on the train, remember that not all of us are harmless. Play with fire and you will get burned."

                The man flushed with humiliation, especially as the comment had been heard by the people who had stopped to see what was going on. With a snarl or rage he charged Shampoo again, and she sidestepped him again, but this time, instead of just dodging, she hooked one foot around his and kicked upward with enough force that the man actually flipped over before landing on the tiled platform, momentarily stunned.

                Before he got a chance to recover, Shampoo took one long step to stand next to his head and put her shoe-clad foot to his throat, applying just enough pressure to let the man know that she could increase it anytime she wanted. "Why don't we just leave it here?" she suggested calmly. "Before you humiliate yourself any more thoroughly than you already have." There was no response, so she increased the pressure of her foot against his throat slightly. "I said, why don't you just leave it here," she repeated, her tone just a touch more menacing.

                The man on the floor nodded as best he could with a foot on his throat, which was withdrawn shortly afterwards.

                "See, it wasn't that hard," Shampoo told him sweetly as he got to his feet. "Now why don't you go see a doctor about those fingers. I'm sure that they must be hurting." The man turned away sharply and scurried away like a dog that had just been whipped and Shampoo sighed. "Some people just never learn," she said in an exasperated tone of voice, before heading away herself before the fool could call the police down on her. Of course if they tried, she would turn the entire thing into a diplomatic incident quite cheerfully. Which reminded her, she needed to have her passport photo updated, the last one having been taken just before she left Nerima, when she was still possessed of her long violet tresses.

                Her hair was still violet, that was natural rather than died as most people seemed to think and was caused by her tribe living near Jusenkyo for so long, but instead of the luxurious wealth of hair she used to possess, now it was clipped short. The style was still feminine, but now it was only about five centimetres from tip to scalp. She had also discarded her silk pantsuits as her day wear of choice, instead choosing a more practical ensemble of jean, a t-shirt that had been tie-dyed purple and comfortable running shoes. It had taken some effort to get used to fighting in the shoes as opposed to the thin-soled slippers she used to wear, but they were more practical for walking long distances over sometimes treacherous terrain.

                Once her would be assailant was out of sight and the small crowd that had gathered began to drift away, Shampoo set out for the steps her self, squinting a little as she emerged into bright daylight. She raised her hand to shield her eyes until they adjusted and began looking around, both to get her bearings and to try and spot a good place to get something to eat. She grinned when she saw the perfect spot, a yattai selling okonomiyaki. Normally she preferred ramen but somehow okonomiyaki seemed more appropriate at that moment, and besides, the afternoon was starting to wear on and as her stomach reminded her, it had been quite a while since that skimpy pre-dawn breakfast.

                She casually strolled over to the yattai, weaving in and out of the crowds more by instinct that conscious action, until she got a good look at it. It was attended by two people. One was a fairly old man with only a few patches of wispy grey hair left on his head that looked like they were ready to disappear as well and wearing an apron bearing a repeat of the logo that was on the yattai's sign, probably the owner. The other, who was actually working the grill, was a man about Shampoo's age who had apparently missed the fact that heavy metal had been and gone. Despite the warm weather he wore a heavy, metal studded, black leather jacket over a black shirt, thick black jeans held up by a metal studded belt and probably heavy black boots. Shampoo couldn't see the boots, but she accurately deduced their existence since the rest of the outfit literally demanded their presence. And of course it wouldn't have been complete with out the black shades, the skull and cross bone earrings and the fingerless gloves.

                It wasn't until Shampoo got closer that she recognised the familiar pattern of the hands working the okonomiyaki on the hot plate. They stood out like a sore thumb from most styles of okonomiyaki making, since at least half the moves were also meant for combat as well as cooking. Looking closer Shampoo also realised that there were few discrepancies in the chef's appearance as well. The chest was just a little too flat for one thing, and the jeans didn't sit quite right, for a guy anyway. With a grin, Shampoo walked over and sat down at one of the yattai's stools. "Deluxe okonomiyaki," she said to the person behind the grill. "Hold the gunpowder."

                "It's good to see you too Shampoo," Ukyo replied with a grin as her hands automatically moved to assemble the ingredients. "It's been a while."

                "It has indeed," Shampoo said, watching as Ukyo's hands moved with a speed that only a trained martial artist could follow, let alone achieve, shaping the batter on the grill and adding the toppings. "It's nice to see that some things haven't changed. Still trying to pass for a guy I see."

                "What do you mean trying?" Ukyo retorted. "I think I pull it off fairly well. However I notice that some things have changed. Your Japanese has improved, a lot."

                Shampoo nodded her head in thanks and then didn't say much else for several minutes as she worked her way through the okonomiyaki that Ukyo served up and the chef/ martial artist's attention was taken up by several other customers. Most of them elected to eat on the go though, so by the time Shampoo finished, it was just her, Ukyo and the yattai's owner again.

                The yattai owner looked at his watch and then said in a creaky voice. "Looks like it's closin' time."

                "So early?" Ukyo asked, surprised.

                The owner nodded. "Always close early on a Friday. A man needs some time to call his own. Thank you once again for your help today." He reached into his cash drawer and counted out several notes into Ukyo's hand.

                "I can't accept this," she insisted, trying to give it back. "This is your yattai, not mine."

                "And without your help today, I probably would have been swamped," the old man replied. "Take it. You deserve it. I've got more than enough money to last me until I die, so don't worry about it. I do this because I want to, not because I have to."

                Ukyo bowed so deeply that her ponytail fell forward over her head. "Thank you very much."

                "It's no problem," the man insisted. "Now I can tell that you and your friend have a lot of catching up to do, so scoot." He made shooing motions with his hands before turning and securing the rest of the items on the yattai.

                Ukyo bent down and retrieved her bandoleer of throwing spatulas and her oversized battler spatula from a drawer under the yattai and slung both over her shoulder, adjusting them until they sat right. The she straightened up and she and Shampoo started walking, saying nothing for several moments. "So, what brings you back to Japan?" Ukyo finally asked.

                "Unfinished business," Shampoo replied casually. "I'm sure you know what I mean. It's what drew you back from your attempt to introduce the rest of the world to okonomiyaki, isn't it?"

                Ukyo shrugged. "I could say no, but I'd be lying. I don't like having issues left unresolved and I think now's the time to resolve them."

                "You're assuming that we get lucky and run into everyone in Nerima," Shampoo pointed out. "I know Kasumi still lives there with her father, as does Great-grandmother, but everyone else left, either before us or not that long afterwards."

                "They'll be there," Ukyo assured her. "Call it a gut feeling, or an instinct if you want, but I know they'll be there. And don't tell me you don't have the same feeling either. Somehow, I don't think you'd be back in Japan if you didn't."

                There was silence for several long minutes as they continued to walk, but this time it was Shampoo who broke the conversational impasse. "I'm sorry," she said.

                Ukyo was so surprised she stopped dead in her track. "What?"

                "I'm sorry," Shampoo repeated. "Towards the end I was behaving very badly and I owe both you and Akane apologies for the way I acted. My actions were not those of an honourable warrior and while I can not take back what I did, I can at least attempt to make amends."

                Ukyo was silent for several seconds, digesting that, before blowing out a long, gusty breath and resuming her walk. "You're not the only one who should apologise. My behaviour was not too admirable either. So I'll accept your apology if you'll accept mine."

                "Fair enough," Shampoo agreed. "Now to change the topic to more immediate concerns, where were you planning on spending the night. I for one would prefer to spend the evening under a roof, preferably somewhere with air conditioning."

                Ukyo rubbed her chin thoughtfully for several moments as she walked, holding her head at just the right angle for the sun to reflect of her shades. "The way I see it we have several options. First, we can get on a train to Nerima right now and hope to find someplace to spend the night before it gets too late. Or we can try and find some place closer and head to Nerima in the morning, which is my personal preference. Exactly where to stay depends on how much money you're willing to spend. I've got enough that I can afford to indulge myself for one night, but what about you?"

                "Money is not an issue," Shampoo said, "at least not for one night, or even for five nights if it really came to that."

                Ukyo grinned. "I know just the place then. Follow me."

                Intrigued, Shampoo followed Ukyo closely. She was somewhat surprised when the chef led her away from the high-rise buildings that contained the normal luxury hotels and into the shopping district. They eventually came to a lingerie shop that Ukyo entered without even pausing. Shampoo frowned slightly in puzzlement and then head on in herself. The garments on display ranged from mildly titillating, to risqué and down right scandalous. The store also seemed to contain quite a large number of unusual items and Shampoo paused at a rather skimpy g-string that looked to be made from gold lamé. The shop was also larger than it seemed from the outside, and when Shampoo reached the back, Ukyo was already talking animatedly with the girl behind the counter.

                The girl, who appeared to be no more than about sixteen, looked up at Shampoo's approach and asked Ukyo, "Is this her?" is a voice more mature than her appearance suggested.

                "Yep."

                "The one you called the 'purple haired Amazon cat-bitch from hell' when we first met?"

                Ukyo flushed at that. "You had to bring that up, didn't you. I wasn't exactly looking at things clearly at the time."

                "Don't worry," Shampoo said. "I called you worse, and be thankful it doesn't translate or your hair would be standing on end. I left that all behind years ago."

                "Then allow me to introduce myself. I am Iwata Sayoko, the proprietor of this establishment. If you have any problems, just ask for me and I will do my best to solve it. For payment I accept Japanese yen, Chinese Yuan, American dollars, British pounds, Euro and most other currencies, all major credit cards and precious metals, valued at current market value. Jewellery and other such valuable are only accepted if you also have a certified valuation within the last twelve months. Is there any difficulty with that?"

                Shampoo shook her head, a little stunned and wondering exactly where Ukyo had led her, for this was obviously not an average lingerie shop.

                "Then please, follow me." Sayoko ushered them behind the counter and back through a screen of beads into what Shampoo assumed was the staff room. It contained several lockers set flush into the wall and their doors wood panelled, a low table surrounded by what had to be the most comfortable looking chairs Shampoo had ever laid eyes on and there was a top of the line coffee maker on the counter next to the sink. Sayoko led them through a door opposite the screen and down a spiral staircase that seemed to go down several stories before stopping and opening out into room with carpets so thick and luxurious, Shampoo sank up to her ankles, and furnished with several chairs and divans that looked even more comfortable than the ones upstairs. In the centre of the room was a circular desk, manned by a woman and an albino man, both around their mid twenties.

                "Emi," Sayoko called out, causing the woman to look up. "We have two guests for the night. Please arrange rooms for them." With that the woman, who Shampoo was beginning to suspect was nowhere near as young as she looked, left and Emi came out from behind the desk to greet them. "Welcome to Bright Haven," she said, bowing. "If you will please follow me, I will show you to your rooms."

                She led them to one of the doors on the wall opposite the staircase, ushering Ukyo through one, indicating for Shampoo to wait. Shampoo started slightly when she realised the Emi had seven fingers instead of the usual five, but she had seen stranger. It was only a minute or so until Emi returned and ushered Shampoo through another door. It opened onto a short hallway that angled down slightly and terminated in a single door. Emi opened it and Shampoo's jaw almost dropped in surprise. The room was the very definition of luxury, with a canopied bed big enough to sleep a dozen with room to spare at the very centre.

                "If you desire anything, please ring the bell," Emi said, gesturing to an old-fashioned hand bell on the table next to the door. "We hope you enjoy your stay at Bright Haven." And with that she left, closing the door behind her.

                Shampoo knew then and there, without quite realsing how she knew, that Bright Haven was so far from the ordinary that most people wouldn't believe it existed, even if you showed them. For a brief moment she wondered exactly what Ukyo had gotten her into, and then relaxed. What ever it was, she planned to enjoy it to the full while she could and upon the morrow both she and Ukyo would head to Nerima to finally sort out matters that had been left behind eight years ago.

                And so they gathered. They had wandered to the far corners of the globe and undergone trials and tribulations, known joy and sorrow, experienced both thrilling triumph and bitter defeat and all had grown, both as martial artists and as human beings. Now they returned the place where it had all began, where they had first come together, friend and foe, enemy and ally alike. Of course their number would not be complete with out the Wild Horse and Ranma too travelled to Nerima, dark hair glinting in the moonlight and sea spray flecking his cheeks, though not enough to activate the curse, as the boat he was on pulled into Tokyo Bay. He knew that he was running late, though he could not say how he knew, but he knew that the others were ahead of him. But that did not matter, he would be there when the time came. What would happen when they were all together again, he did not know but finding out promised to be interesting.

End Part 1


	2. Journey's End 2

Ranma:

Journey's End:

Part 2

                The Tendo Dojo awoke to sounds that had not been heard within its walls for quite some time, the sound of a vigorous work out by a martial artist of impressive skill. Kasumi and Tofu, both early risers by inclination, were not that put out with their unusual manner of their waking, but both Kazuma and Soun, neither of who were morning people by preference, still looked half asleep when they had all gathered to find out just who was making the noise. As the only resident of the Tendo dojo not present, it was obvious that Akane was the source of the noise, though it took a few moments for the memories of Akane's return the previous day to percolate through Soun's sleep addled mind. When he finally did remember, he led the way through the house to the dojo to further the investigation.

                What greeted them when they arrived was not quite any of them expected. While none of them doubted Akane's pronouncements about her improved skill, it wasn't until quite that moment that the full reality actually sunk in. In the true spirit of the Anything Goes School, Akane flowed from style as she blazed her way through the forms, a skin tight, blazing red battle aura sheathing her limbs as she went through the motions as close to perfect as was humanly possible. Every so often the performance was punctuated by sharp sound that was somewhere between a hard exhalation and an outright yell, accompanied by a brief flare from her battle aura. Kazuma, Kasumi, Tofu and Soun stood there, entranced for several minutes until Akane came to a blinding halt, her aura blinking to nothing.

                There was an awed silence for several moments till Kazuma made his opinion known with a reverent exclamation of, "Sugoi!!!" That bought a brief round of laughter as Kazuma continued, "Can you teach me how to do that Aunt Akane?"

                "I thought you wanted to be a doctor," Akane said as she walked over to her family, a grin on her face. "You can't be both a doctor and a martial artist."

                "Tou-san is!" Kazuma stated with the certainty that only youth can bring.

                "I'm afraid not Kazuma," Tofu said, shaking his head sadly at his son. "Not to that degree. That requires a dedication too great to work a medical degree around."

                Kazuma looked crestfallen for a moment, but then looked up at Akane again hopefully. "But you can still teach me Aunt Akane?"

                "As much as you're willing to learn," Akane told her nephew solemnly as she crouched down to ruffle his hair.

                Soun smiled at the thought of his grandson helping to carry on the Tendo School, but inside his mind was going over what he had just seen. Even if he was a bit out of practise, he was still a martial artist of no small skill but after that last display, he knew that Akane had surpassed him. If it came to an all out fight, he would probably be able to last a few minutes, since a man does not study under Happosai for years without picking up a few tricks to keep his skin intact, but there was no doubt in Soun's mind that in a fight between himself and his youngest daughter, he would not be the victor. While the thought was somewhat disheartening, it also made him glad, for he knew that whatever happened now, the Tendo School would remain strong for another generation.

                He was broken out of his revere when he heard the words he had been dreading ever since Akane has returned. "Let me help you with breakfast Onee-san."

                Soun, Tofu and Kasumi froze in place, none of them twitching so much as an eye lash. None of them has forgotten Akane's attempts at helping in the kitchen before she left home. That is not something that one forgets easily, no matter how much you want to. The tableau was broken when Akane's face split in a wide grin and she doubled over at clutched at her stomach as gales of laughter shook her body, while Kazuma looked between his aunt, his grandfather and his parents and wondered just what was going on. "You should see the looks on your faces," Akane managed to choke out before going off in another fit of laughter.

                "Come along Kazuma my boy," Soun said, deciding to take pity on his grandson and enlighten him. "Let me tell you about the strange and dangerous things that happen when your Aunt Akane enters the kitchen." That only set Akane of further and Kasumi decided that discretion was the better part of valour and fled to the kitchen, her sanctum sanctorum, to get breakfast, leaving her husband to deal with the still laughing Akane.

                "So Akane," Tofu said conversationally when Akane finally got herself under control. "Tell me, what led to the realisation that Ranma was telling the truth about your cooking, even if his phrasing was a trifle indelicate?"

                Akane grinned ruefully at that. "The fact that after a week of eating my own cooking, I had to be admitted to hospital for severe toxic shock," she admitted. "The doctor said the contents of my stomach were more like a toxic waste dump instead of human digestive track. He made me swear that the only kitchen utensil I would ever touch again is one I'm using to eat."

                At that it was Tofu's turn to laugh and Akane blushed crimson. When Tofu calmed himself, he decided it was time to get a bit of her own back and grill him about what he had done between leaving Nerima and returning to marry Kasumi. She figured after being pumped for information the previous day that turn about was fair play after all. That was broken up by Kasumi announcing that breakfast was ready.

                After all that was left of breakfast was few scattered grains of rice stuck the edges of the bowls, Tofu readied himself for a brief day at the clinic, Kazuma headed on his way to school and Kasumi headed out to do some shopping, insisting that Akane accompany her. Unbeknownst to them, at that same moment, Ryoga, who had been inventorying his pack and the oversized pockets of his coat, decided that now was as good a time as any to stock up on some of the items he was running low on. He wasn't planning on going anywhere particularly soon, but spending most of his life on the road had taught him that the old saw about mice, men and their plans was all too often accurate. Of course, at the same time Ukyo and Shampoo boarded the train headed for Nerima, the same train that Mousse and Konatsu were on, though the two small groups had no idea of the others presence, being on carriages at the opposite end of the train. It may have been quiet in Nerima for eight years, but that only meant that the kami of chaos that ruled in the ward had eight years of catching up to do and he wasn't going to waste a single minute.

                Saturday being Saturday, the Nerima market was fairly full, but Kasumi had been making her way through the crowded throngs for over a decade and possessed an instinct for the ebb and flow of the crowd, almost like some fishermen have an instinct for the wind and water at their favourite fishing spot. This ensured that the grocery shopping was completed in short order, and after a brief stop back at the dojo to drop the food off, Kasumi and Akane were off again. While helping Akane settle back into her old room, Kasumi had gotten a good look at her youngest sister's minimal wardrobe and insisted on helping Akane expand it. After all, every girl deserved to have something nice and all Akane's clothes were plain and meant for wear rather than show, and all of them were showing the signs of hard living. So will she or nil she, Akane found herself being guided around all the clothing stores that Nerima possessed that might have something suitable for her.

                Of course finding something appropriate proved to be harder than even Kasumi had anticipated. While no one could doubt that Akane was a woman, just by looking at her, over the years of her wandering she had picked up a distinctive, sleek, muscular grace and that was what was causing the problems. The vast majority of women's fashions weren't designed for women who showed the same amount of muscular development that Akane did and everything she tried on just looked wrong somehow. As Kasumi guided Akane to yet another clothing store, she began to wonder if Akane would have to have something specifically tailored if she didn't want to look odd in a dress. She was so focused on her thoughts that she wasn't paying as much attention to her surroundings as she normally did and so bumped into a very solid and immobile slab of muscle as she turned a corner.

                "I'm sorry miss, let me help you up," a deep voice said from that massive chest and Kasumi looked up in surprise as that voice triggered eight year old memories. Her eyes flicked up to the bandanna around Ryoga's forehead and she smiled.

                "It's good to see you again Ryoga-kun," she said as she took his hand and climbed back to her feet.

                "It's good to see you too Kasumi-san," Ryoga said. "And you too Akane," he added, looking up and giving a slight internal sigh at what he felt when looking at the former object of his affections. He had come to realise long ago that he didn't truly love Akane, at least not in the romantic sense and that he had clung to her because she was one of the few people in his lonely existence that had been kind to him. Though he had given up hope of her being his true love, part of him had always wondered, but those questions were answered when he looked at her. What welled up inside him was affection, warmth at seeing a friend one has not seen in a long time, and even a faint hint of lust, for there was no questioning the fact that Akane was a beautiful woman, but no true love.

                Akane nodded in return and smiled slightly, but there was a slightly fixed quality to it, and it didn't entirely reach her eyes. "Ryoga," she said acknowledging his greeting with a nod of her head and though she was cordial enough, Ryoga wondered exactly what she was still angry about from since the last time they had seen each other. If it was what he thought it was, he was most likely in trouble.

                Nothing would come of it then though, for at that moment a cheerful voice called out, "Well, well! If it isn't old home week! Don't tell me you got lost for _eight years_ Ryoga!"

                The voice triggered many memories and Kasumi, Akane and Ryoga all turned to look at the speaker. That morning Mousse had elected to wear a set of robes identical to his old ones, save for being made of slightly finer, and more durable, material, so despite the eye patch and new hairstyle, it took only a few seconds for him to be recognised.

                "Mousse!" Akane blurted out in surprise, causing several nearby heads to turn and stare, before their owners raced of to spread the news. "What sort of coincidence can this be? You and Ryoga arriving back in Nerima the day after I did."

                "Actually, I arrived yesterday," Ryoga interjected.

                "Details," Akane said, brushing the point away with a wave of her hand. "My point's still valid."

                "I don't believe there is any such thing as a coincidence when it comes to Nerima Akane-san," Konatsu said, causing both Ryoga and Akane to look very closely at her.

                "Hang on," Ryoga said. "Didn't you use to be Ukyo waitress?" he asked. "I'm afraid I've forgotten your name. I don't think we were ever properly introduced."

                "Kenzanin Konatsu," Konatsu supplied.

                "Konatsu?" Akane asked in surprise. "I know you used to cross-dress, but when did you become female?"

                Briefly Konatsu outlined her encounter with the Musk, making Ryoga snicker at the scheme. As she finished a new voice called out from down the street. "Looks like we weren't too late after all!" and heads turned to see Ukyo and Shampoo approaching.

                When they actually made it to easy talking distance, the conversation rapidly degenerated into repeated exclamations of disbelief at how much they were pushing coincidence, even for Nerima, while Kasumi just stood to one side and smiled. At the same time several blocks away Happosai was making one of his occasional visits back to Nerima, his path marked by outraged screams and women who had found themselves divested of one or more items of underwear.

                Grinning Happosai used his pipe to send an incensed boyfriend who tried to stop him forcefully flying into a stone wall. It had been a while since he had been to Nerima and it was better than he remembered it being the last time. Ever since his eventual successor had left things had seemed flat and lifeless and even liberating his silky darlings hadn't been as much fun as it used to be. So he had moved on to greener pastures, returning only occasionally to remind the ward that he was still around. But today, things seemed so much sweeter and he was enjoying himself more than he had in the past few years. He liberated a leopard print pair of panties and headed for the rooftops, deciding that he should stash what he had already collected and then come back for more later, as it was getting awkward to carry. He paused for a moment and that was when he felt them.

                Happosai had been around many years and had refined his skills to incredible degrees and that was the only reason he sensed what he did. Six immensely powerful auras, though damped down and kept under control. Most ki adepts would have only been able to sense six auras, perhaps a little more powerful than most, but nothing really out of the ordinary, but what set Happosai apart from most was that he could since the hidden strength and potential. Five of the six seemed familiar about as well, though he couldn't quite place them. Still three of the individuals were definitely female and a probable fourth was as well. That aura was a little strange, and better shielded than the others, so it was hard to tell, but he decided that a few more silky darlings couldn't hurt, especially when their wearers actually promised to give him a challenge in liberating them. It was a prospect that he just couldn't turn down.

                With a cry of, "SWEETO!!!" he leapt across the rooftops, crying out again every few leaps, looking forward to a bit of excitement to lighten up an old man's life. Just as he crested the roof of one of the building on the street that held his targets, he caught sight of them and instantly realised why the auras were so familiar. He knew almost all of them their, Akane, Ryoga, Mousse, Shampoo and Ukyo and the reason he hadn't recognised their auras was because they were so much powerful than the last time he had sensed them. His grin grew even broader as he leapt down with one final, joyful cry.

                That proved to be a mistake though. Even back when they had been enemies, all of the so called Nerima Wrecking Crew had agreed on one thing. Beating up Happosai was always a good thing, especially when he had just been on one of his raiding sprees. They all remembered his voice quite well too, so the instant they sensed his presence, they had been on guard and when they heard him, five blazing battle auras sprang into existence, blazing, fiery red for Akane, a light, goldish green for Ryoga, a shimmering violet for Shampoo, a hard silvery white for Mousse and a rusty, almost blood red for Ukyo, while Konatsu seemed to turn sideways while standing still and disappear. Half an instant later five ki bolts, all of them aimed for the founding master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts and Lechery. Happosai hadn't been expecting quite that response to his arrival and was caught off guard, but he recovered quickly. He dodged three of the five ki bolts, but Ryoga's greenish-gold bolt caught the bulging sack of his purloined lingerie, scattering them everywhere and that distracted him just long enough that Shampoo's attack caught him squarely in the chest and sent him flying backwards. He recovered quickly and pushed off the wall as he hit it, but as he reached the top of his arc, Happosai's finely tuned danger sense screamed a warning at him. He looked up just in time to see an orange-gold sphere of ki come hurtling down towards him, accompanied by a cry of "MOKOU TAKABISHA!!!" before he was slammed into the ground and consciousness fled.

                Ranma landed lightly on his feet to one side of the now somnolent old panty thief, a wide grin on his face as he spread his arms and said cheerfully, "Well, did you miss me?"

                Cologne pogoed along the streets of Nerima for all she was worth. She had just gotten word from the suddenly resurrected rumour mill that not only had Ryoga returned, but so had Akane, Shampoo, Mousse, Ukyo and Konatsu, but most importantly of all, Ranma was back. The person who had informed her had also said that all of them were headed to the Tendo Dojo, though he had not overheard the reasons. Still, Cologne saw no reason not to go. She had closed up the shop and hung a sign that had not seen use for a long time. 'Closed due to Ranma.' It was highly likely that all those gathered at the Tendo Dojo had improved their skills in the martial arts during their long absence and there was great potential for an outbreak of fighting in the situation. Cologne had been bored ever since Shampoo left and with the opportunity to view a battle like that one, she would fight her way through all the gods of China and the kami of Japan to view it.

                Of course when she got there, it proved to be rather anti climactic. She exchanged brief greetings with Kasumi and was ushered into the living room where the various returnees were not engaged in heated arguments or displays of athletic violence as had been expected, but were sitting down calmly drinking tea. There was tension there of course, obvious to those who were expecting it, but no where near as bad as she had expected. What also took Cologne back were the changes in some of their physical appearances, especially Mousse, Akane and Shampoo. It took her several seconds to recognise the youngest Tendo and Mousse, as Akane's tan and sun bleached hair and Mousse's new hairstyle and eye patch altered their appearances in subtle, but striking ways, but Cologne's mind took several seconds to accept what she saw with Shampoo. A Joketsu warrior, even the rare males like Mousse, never cut their hair except in times of great dishonour (or the beginning of split ends, but then only as little as possible) and Shampoo's neat, close clipped locks just refused to register with Cologne's mental image of her great-granddaughter.

                Ranma was the first to notice Cologne's entrance, which was fairly impressive, as his back was to her and she had entered silently out of long habit. Without turning around he raised one hand in a casual greeting. "Yo! Long time know see Old Ghoul!"

                Despite herself Cologne had to laugh as everyone turned their heads to look at her. No matter how much changed, it seemed certain things would always remain the same. "Eight years to be more exact. Actually, I'll have to check, but I think it's almost to the day."

                "Almost," Ranma agreed, still not turning around. "So what brings you here this fine day?"

                A thousand things ran through Cologne's mind as she tried to decide on an answer to that. She was aware of Ukyo, Akane and Konatsu's casual interest, which caused the question of where Konatsu had gotten Nyannichaun water from to flit through her mind, Mousse's more intent scrutiny and the way Shampoo was not quite looking directly at her. Then she thought about her village back in China, the house she had lived in for nearly a century before coming to Japan, the reactions of her fellow elders on the council and many, many other things. Finally after a pause that seemed like an eternity, but in reality was probably little more than a few seconds, she said, "Actually, I came to ask if you would care to talk. We have much that needs to be discussed and thought that you might want to get it out of the way before dealing with… other matters."

                "Sounds like a good idea," Ranma admitted after a few moments thought. "Is there anything that you need to do right now?"

                "Nothing that can't keep," she said. "Though if it is inconvenient for you, I'm sure another time can be arranged."

                Ranma paused again, obviously thinking and inwardly Cologne cheered. She knew that Ranma had a brain but she had despaired of him ever learning to use it, at least before opening his mouth and just blurting things out. It was a problem many martial artists she knew had, to one degree or another. In combat they were trained to act and react as fast as possible, not sit around and think things through and that often carried over into other aspects of their life, which in some instances could be a good thing, but it could also be a bad thing, as in Ranma's case. He was still thinking when he caught a both Akane and Mousse nodding almost imperceptibly, joined a little later by Ukyo. This encouragement seemed to make up his mind and he replied. "Now is a good as time as any I suppose."

                He rose with his feet with what Cologne knew to be deliberate casualness and turned to face her. He was very little changed from the young man that Cologne had known eight years ago, physically at least. He was a little taller, and had acquired a slight tan, though not to the same degree as Akane and his blue eyes were as bright and piercing as ever. His shirt was a little fancier than those he had favoured back when he left, with a thin border of intricate embroidery on the cuff and down the front, but it was the same basic style. "Shall we go?" he asked.

                "After you," Cologne said, letting Ranma lead the way out. Once they were on the footpath, Ranma looked longingly at the fences, but refrained from jumping up on them. Both were silent as they walked, Ranma taking a random, meandering route through the streets. Finally Ranma broke the silence. "Do you still mean for me to marry Shampoo?" he asked, his tone quiet and serious.

                Cologne had been expecting that question in one form or another. "Were the choice mine to make, I would tell you that the choice is yours to make, though if you do choose to wed my great-granddaughter, I would certainly have no objection."

                "You said, if the choice were your's," Ranma replied. "That implies a but lurking somewhere at the end of the statement."

                "Very true. My position as Elder allows some leeway in offering incentives to encourage you, 'sweetening the pot' so to speak, but my position also means that I must uphold the laws of the tribe and those same laws demand that you marry Shampoo."

                "I would have thought that an Elder would have more choice in the matter, Ranma said, his voice tinted with surprise.

                "Most would," Cologne confirmed, "but unfortunately, the exact opposite pertains. Our people have never been large in number, but we have survived throughout millennia, with very little influence by the tides of change, but that is coming to a close. Until the twentieth century our skills as warriors and the secret techniques of our tribe meant that even if we could not beat back an invading army, any victory they achieved would by Pyrrhic at best and the presence of the Musk would doom any army that badly depleted. Little as we like them, the mutual proximity of we and the Musk has played a large part in the survival of both groups. But now there are modern weapons that would allow the government in Beijing to wipe us out as an effective fighting force with the push of a button. Between that and the lure of the comforts that modern technology offers, comfort that is sadly lacking in Qinghai Province, the tribe threatens to simply… dissolve and it is only be keeping to our laws that can be stopped and as an elder it is my duty to set an example by upholding the law. If I were to so openly disregard it, that would send the Joketsu on a downhill slide that would see us scattered to the winds and lucky to be even a footnote in history and I will not knowingly be party to doing that. So I am more constrained by our laws than even the lowliest male back in the village."

                "A point I hadn't considered," Ranma admitted. "But do you not also make the law? Old laws can change and new laws made and I doubt that the Jokestu survived as long as you say they have without changing with the times when necessary."

                "True," Cologne admitted. "The records are almost indecipherable and the scribes are in a running battle to render them in more modern script before they are complete lost to the ravages of time, but if you are willing to put in the care and effort, you can read records detailing laws being changed, and even overturned entirely, throughout our history. However, I am but one Elder, and it takes the majority of the council to agree to change or repeal a law. If I encounter a situation that is not covered by the law, I do have the authority to set an interim law on my own, but that is subject to ratification and modification by the council. I have also argued that the law should be changed, but my fellow elders will not even consider it. It is true of many people that the faster the world around them changes, the more they hold on to the old and familiar, and the older one becomes, the truer that is."

                "Then I must ask this question," Ranma said solemnly, his voice gaining a slight edge to it. "By what authority do your laws apply to me? I am not Joketsu, I'm not even Chinese! So what gives you the right to tell me I must obey your laws?!" Though on a tight leash, the anger in Ranma's voice was quite clear at this point, but it was equally clear that he wasn't directing it at Cologne. Rather his anger was with the situation that they were both in and Cologne made sure to keep that in mine when she answered him.

                "The right given by hubris, arrogance and fear," she replied, deadly serious, making Ranma deflate slightly when he realised that, though she might not be on his side, she at least sympathised with his position. "For centuries we thought of ourselves as superior to all other humans in the land, equalled only by the Musk, who by their breeding practices aren't purely human anymore and the Houzanjin, who are more clearly not human. Their inability to conquer us fuelled a belief that we were somehow better than they and could impose our laws on them by the philosophy of might makes right. Now that the tables are turned and they can wipe us off the face of the Earth, it has only fuelled that belief, that somehow these powerful weapons make them less than us. And so we insist even more strongly that outsiders follow out laws than we used to."

                Ranma whistled. "You've given this a lot of thought," he said admiringly. "You never mentioned any of this eight years ago."

                "Would you have listened?"

                "To be truthful almost certainly not. I didn't have the patience for this sort of thing," Ranma said with a shrug.

                "Then I will also be truthful and admit that though the idea had occurred to me, I had not given it such careful thought then," Cologne said. "The sheer culture shock of coming from our tiny village in the mountains to one of the largest metropolises in the world is what made it occur to me, but one does not question how they have lived their entire life easily or quickly. Though I do take it from all these question that you don't plan to marry my great-granddaughter?"

                Ranma shook his head. "No offence intended to Shampoo, but we just never clicked, not like that. Of course, things could be different. We haven't talked much, but she's changed a lot since last I saw her."

                "As have you Ranma," Cologne said, causing Ranma to blush.

                "All I did was learn to keep my mouth shut and listen occasionally. But still, I cannot accept the terms you offer, no matter how much you 'sweeten the pot.' Even if I'm accepted as a male warrior, can you honestly tell me that I won't always be second to the women, no matter how skilled I am?"

                "Truthfully, no."

                "And that I cannot accept. I once made the mistake of thinking women always second to men, then fate goes around and makes me one half of the time. I've learned that lesson, but I cannot accept that sort of situation."

                "I fear that leaves us with few options then," Cologne said. "I can think of only one other thing that would allow for all concerned to escape with their honour intact, though I fear it would do little good in this situation."

                "You never know," Ranma said with a shrug. "Even if we can't think of something, we could always Doc Tofu or Kasumi for help. What is it?"

                "The Trial of Refusal. When a member of the tribe disagrees with a decision of the council, it is their right to challenge one of the elders to one on combat and should they prove victorious, the decision is over turned. It also has the added benefit of having already being extended to outsiders who have fallen within what the Council sees as our sphere of influence, such as yourself. It has only ever been used once, but the precedent does exist." She turned to face Ranma and was dismayed to see that his eyes had suddenly come to life, burning with eagerness.

                "It sounds like an option," he said with a grin.

                Cologne frowned at him reprovingly. "You have not seen all that I am capable of Ranma. You and I know both know you've seen only a fraction of what I know. If you lose, you will have no choice to return to China and become Shampoo's husband and there is nothing I will be able to do to help you."

                Ranma's eyes were now positively glowing. "No disrespect Elder, I have beaten you once before, even if it was under the influence of the Neko-ken and I have not been idle the past eight years. You yourself taught me the Amiguriken and Hiryu Shoten Ha and you saw me develop the Mouko Takabisha, all in the space of less than a year. You may have the advantage of experience, but I would have the advantages of height, weight and reach and the adaptability of the Anything Goes School. I doubt the outcome would be as forgone as you believe."

                Cologne narrowed her eyes and glared at Ranma, who met her stare levelly. In anyone else, she would have dismissed those statements as youthful arrogance, but despite what many others thought, Ranma had never been truly arrogant. Justifiably proud of his accomplishments and abilities, but the problem was that those were great indeed for someone as young as him and it was the same now. It was not pride or ego that made Ranma speak those words, but a sincere belief in their truth and that made Cologne pause. All too often she had seen Ranma not merely surpass, but transcend his limitations and the memory came unbidden of how shaken Herb, Dragon Prince of the Musk had been at his defeat by Ranma and the awesome shock that she had felt herself when she discovered that Ranma had not merely bested Saffron, but actually killed the Phoenix King. With eight years more experience behind him, he might just very well have a point.

                That wasn't the only consideration thought. As much as she tried to ignore that small part of herself, Cologne was a martial artist at heart herself and that part of her hungered at the thought of a challenge. Teaching had been a rewarding experience, but it had been too long since Cologne had done that seriously for many years either and she found herself longing for the thrill of battle. "Are you really willing to accept the risk?" she asked.

                "Ready, willing and able," Ranma replied, a slight grin on his face. "If you can see no other way, then this has to be it."

                "Then, Saotome Ranma, Heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, I, Cologne, Warrior and Matriarch of the Jokusetzoku, accept your challenge to the Trial of Refusal."

                The assembled martial artists watched Ranma and Cologne leave in solemn silence. No one had to say anything to know that the departing pair had just taken an important first step in resolving all the issues that had brought them back to Nerima. Finally when they heard the front door close, Ryoga spoke up and broke the silence. "Shouldn't you be going with them Shampoo?" he asked.

                Shampoo smiled sadly. "I don't think so. Ranma must make his choice for himself and what is still between us is a matter of tribal law and that is rightly the province of an Elder. He and Great Grandmother must work this out between themselves, without my interference. I do hope that Great Grandmother can figure out a way to free him from tribal law."

                Everyone simply turned and looked at Shampoo with disbelieving stares. "Does this mean that you intend to give up on Ranma-san, Shampoo-san," Konatsu asked in a small voice, which earned the kunoichi a quelling glare.

                "Do I look that silly?" she asked with a hint of heat to her voice. "There is no way I am letting a catch like him get away without even making an attempt!"

                "But you just said you don't want Ranma to be your husband by tribal law anymore," Akane objected, a little confused.

                "I don't," Shampoo said. "If I get Ranma, I want it to be of his own free will. I want him to choose me because he loves me, not because he's forced to."

                "Now there's a sentiment I can agree with," Ukyo said enthusiastically. "Among other things I've been doing, I've had a long talk with my father and he's agreed to dissolve my engagement to Ranma, on the condition that Genma provide some form of restitution for the stolen yattai. Anyone got any idea what a panda skin rug goes for these days?"

                That earned a round of laughter and an offer of aid in collecting said item from Mousse. When the laughter died down, an uncomfortable silence once again descended over the room. Finally Akane decided to break it and cleared her throat. "Um, Ryoga, could you come with me into the dojo? There's something I'd like to discuss with you. In private."

                "Okay," Ryoga said, a little uncertainly, as there was a slightly fixed quality to Akane's voice that suggested he wasn't going to enjoy the conversation. He also has a sinking feeling in his gut what the conversation was going to be about. It was something he had been dreading but it was also something that had to be done, so he got to his feet and followed Akane to the dojo. She opened the door and waved him in.

                He walked in and surveyed the dojo, noting that it had changed little, merely that the repairs weren't as obviously new as they had been last time he was there. He heard the door slide shut behind him and he turned to face Akane and his danger sense gave him less than a split second's warning before the ki charged backhand caught him across the face, knocking him backwards and actually lifting his feet off the floor with the force of the blow. "You perverted bastard!" Akane yelled at him, her battle aura a fiery red as a forward kick caught him in the ribs, knocking him back down and sliding along the floor. "You little swine! I should have had you neutered like Nabiki suggested!" Much as Ryoga admitted he was wrong for what he had done as P-chan, there was a limit to how much physical abuse he was willing to take and he blocked the uppercut that would have put him through the roof, his arms tingling with the discharged ki from the strike. Still having her physical attack halted didn't stop Akane's verbal tirade. "And to play on Ranma's honour by making him keep your dirty little secret!" Even blocking didn't stop Ryoga from skidding back nearly a metre from the kick that accompanied the statement.

                Akane continued in that vein for sometime, and to Ryoga it seemed to dredge up every single of the moments that shamed him most. He made no attempt to defend himself, verbally at least as though her language may have been slightly intemperate; everything Akane said was the truth. Physically was another matter entirely and by the time Akane calmed down Ryoga's forearms were aching from so many repeated blocks and his right cheek was throbbing in time to his heartbeat from the first blow, though it didn't feel like anything was broken. Finally Akane expended her fury with a driving elbow that slipped through his defences and sent him flying back once again and a shout of, "If you ever think of doing something like that again, I'm going to tear of your balls, carve them into rosettes and serve them to you on a silver platter!" That said she went and flopped down in a corner tried to catch her breath.

                "I am sorry," Ryoga said softy, as he pulled himself back up off the floor and into a position. "I did many things that I am ashamed of, but none more than that, save perhaps forcing Ranma to keep my secret."

                "I should hope so," Akane shot back, but most of the heat was gone out of her voice. 

                "I just hope you can forgive me for what I did? It was inexcusable and I don't know how to make it up to you. All I can do is offer you my most sincere forgiveness."

                "I forgave you along time ago Ryoga," Akane said after a few moments of silence. "A wise man told me that to hold onto a grudge for so long can only bring unhappiness to myself and sorrow to everyone around me." She looked up. "Though I think that you came to that conclusion yourself."

                Ryoga shrugged. "If I hadn't I probably would have wind up creating a Perfect Shi Shi Hokodan that would have left me little more than a greasy smear on some rock. But if you weren't holding a grudge, what was that just about?"

                "I needed to get the last of it out of my system and I wanted to make my feelings on the matter perfectly clear. If I had been really mad, you would have been going through the walls, whether you blocked or not."

                "Well, I wouldn't be able to do it again, even if I wanted. My curse is cured."

                Akane's voice was very soft and serious when she replied. "You'll forgive me if I asked for proof. I'm did forgive you Ryoga, but I cannot forget what you did either." She raised her head and looked directly into Ryoga's eyes. "I trusted you Ryoga, and you betrayed that trust. My mind believes that you have changed and truly do regret what you did, but my heart does not. It will be a long time before I can trust you again Ryoga, if ever."

                With that she got up and left the dojo and it was only because she always kept her senses enhanced with her ki that she heard the soft, "I understand," as she slid the door shut after herself. 

                Akane thought about rejoining the others briefly, but her nerves were still a little too jangled for that and she decided to tryout Ranma's favourite place for solitude while he was at the Tendo Dojo. She slipped out the front door, and turned a standing jump into a three hundred and sixty degree back flip that landed her lightly on the roof. It gave her an excellent vantage point to watch the coming and goings in the surrounding streets and she looked on with interest as people went about their business. She felt her heart start to beat a little faster when she recognised Ranma returning, without Cologne.

                Her grin upon seeing him took on an appearance that wasn't entirely innocent. She would freely admit that whatever else she thought about Ranma, his body was enough to send thrills of excitement down her spine and she had also borrowed some of the negatives from Nabiki's collection so she could have a few choice photos to take with her. The years had been kind to Ranma as well. Though his physical appearance was less drastically changed than many of the others, there were subtle signs of how time and training had refined his already impressive physique. Akane was also honest enough, though only to herself, that she was curious as to what changes time had wrought to his female form and that not all of those photos had been of Ranma's male form.

                Turning away before her thoughts became to laviscious, Akane looked the down the other direction and her eyes widened in surprise. That hair colour was too rare in Japan to leave many other options, and Akane didn't know any other women in Nerima who always wore a kimono and carried a cloth wrapped katana everywhere with them. Apparently she wasn't the only one to recognise Saotome Nodoka and she snuck a quick glance at Ranma who was frozen dead in his tracks with surprise as the Saotome Matriarch walked calmly up to the door of the Tendo Dojo. Just as she was about to push open the gate, Ranma shook off his paralysis and sprinted forward, with a cry of, "Kaa-san!"

                Nodoka turned around and gasped in surprise, hands flying to her mouth as her katana clattered to the ground and Akane decided it was time to head back down off the roof. Things were about to get interesting again.

Authors Notes:

That was an evil place to leave it, wasn't it? ^_^

I'd like to thank everyone for the comments on the first chapter. I'm glad you liked it and I hope you like this one just as much. I'd also like to thank Takahashi-sensei for creating such a wonderful series and then giving us fanfic writers so much room to play around with. Domo Arigatou!

Also a few things I'd like to add that I probably should have said after the first chapter. On a note of spelling, as it says in my profile, I'm Australian and our spelling conventions are actually a mix of British English and American English, so if you note a British spelling, such as c-o-l-o-u-r and an American spelling such as r-e-c-o-g-n-i-z-e in the same work, neither is a typo, they're both accepted here. As for the frequency of updates, I'll try to make it as often as possible, but that is both contingent on outside conditions and my muse.

Next time: Ranma gets reaccquainted with his parents as everyone else tries to settle back into Nerima. And the old saw, 'The more things change, the more they stay the same,' is proved correct as the Kuno Siblings make their reapperance, as deluded and crazy ever. Hope to see you there!


	3. Journey's End 3

Ranma ½

Journey's End Chapter 3:

Happosai awoke with a groan. Though he was loathe to admit it, he was no longer as young as he had once been. Actually, by most standards, he was well past geriatric and heading into the vaguely defined realm of ancient. Though he was extremely fit for his age, or any age for that matter, time was beginning to take its toll and it was moments like these that the founding master of the Anything Goes School felt the full weight of his years. Rising to his feet, he disappeared into a convenient alley to take stock of his situation and it was definitely not to his liking. He remembered running into several of Ranma's old acquaintances on the street, none of whom had been seen in Nerima for nearly eight years, give or take a month, all of them martial artists of no small skill. More importantly, some of them had been quite attractive females and if there was one thing Happosai liked more than 'liberating' underwear or attaching himself to a well endowed female chest, it was a good challenge to get the blood flowing and the prospect of combining all three was more than he had been able to pass up. In this case that proved to be a mistake.

When the younger generation of martial artists had left Nerima, while most of them could produce an impressive battle auras, especially Akane when she was angry, and use their ki to enhance their fighting abilities, consciously or unconsciously, only Ranma and Ryoga had been able to use their ki as a weapon and both of them required enough time to gather the power to give him ample opportunity to strike. Yet that was no longer the case, and while none of those ki bolts had been debilitating in the least, they had thrown him off balance, figuratively speaking due to the speed with which they had been launched and literally when some of them had connected. It had been a setback, but a minor one and the only real problem was that it had caused him to lose his silky darlings. He had not been prepared for what had come next though.

As previously noted, Happosai is extremely adept at reading auras, even when they are concealed. There is one technique though that has negated the advantages of that ability. Happosai had almost been ready to burst with pride when Saotome Genma, the slightly more promising of his two students, had created the Umi-sen-ken technique. An adept practitioner and could use it to completely hide themselves from sight and prevent their aura being read and while Happosai could understand the sealing of the fearsomely destructive Yama-sen-ken techniques, he thought that Genma had been a fool to seal the Umi-sen-ken with them just because they were originally designed as complimentary techniques. Apparently Ranma agreed with him, for there was no other way for him to have snuck up on the diminutive martial arts master without him noticing, not with while holding the power for the ki-blast that flattened him, which made his mastery of the Umi-sen-ken even more impressive.

Pride warred with anger within Happosai. Of his two students while, Soun had possessed the potential to become a good martial artist, Genma had the potential to become great, but he would not bestir himself more than necessary without motivation. Happosai was not sure how Nodoka had managed it exactly, for the seppuku pledge had been for nothing more than to make Ranma a 'man amongst men' irregardless of his martial prowess, but she had given Genma sufficient motivation to give Ranma the potential to be more than good, to be more than be simply great, but to be legendary. Ranma had been Happosai's choice as heir to the School since he was unlikely to live long enough to see the schools rejoined and a combined heir given the way that things had been going when Ranma left Nerima and it seemed that Ranma was living up to that promise, though Akane had also unlocked the potential trapped deep within her as well. That was the reason for his pride, but he was also angry as well. Angry that not only had his fun been interrupted, but it had been interrupted by one who should be calling him master and deferring to his wishes, as was right for any martial artist to the master of their school. Angry that, despite his best efforts, Ranma refused to be cowed or frightened into line as Soun and Genma had been.

A plan hatched in Happosai's mind, and he chuckled nastily, then winced and put one hand against his ribs. They weren't broken, Happosai knew what broken ribs felt like from painful experience in his youth, but they were certainly bruised. Actually, he was almost one big bruise and he had lost most of the boost he had gotten from his earlier romp through Nerima. That meant that he was going to have to draw on his own ki reserves to heal up his injuries and that was annoying. But either way it was going to take a day or so to heal up. Even with ki enhancement, there is only so much that can be done by a body that has long since lost the gifts of youth that allowed them to spring back from injury. Of course that didn't mean that Happosai was going to give up on his plans, not by a long shot. It just meant that he wouldn't be participating directly in the opening moves.

He rose and got his bearings. There had been no planned course to his earlier escapades, so he wasn't entirely certain where he was in Nerima and needed to find a street sign to get his bearing. He walked calmly along the street and if it weren't for his lack of stature, he could have been anyone. But his shortness that so often lead people to underestimate him also marked him out and people, especially women, eyed him warily. He ignored them and kept looking for a street sign or a familiar landmark. Eventually he found a pair of street signs at an intersection and nodded as he brought up a mental map of Nerima and plotted the route to his destination. Ever since getting out of the cave his ungrateful students had buried him in, he had assiduously cultivated contacts in many places, sometimes buying their co-operation through intimidation, sometimes by careful applications of funds and sometimes by a combination of the two. It was into this last category that the contact he was seeking fell and he chuckled to himself again, causing several near him to jump away and make warding gestures, just in case. If Ranma, or Akane for that matter, thought to show impertinence to their master like that, it was time they learned a lesson and the first step in that lesson lay within the Kuno Mansion.

Sasuke, loyal retainer to the Kuno family, groaned as he lugged the heavy pile of freshly laundered linens upstairs to his master's room. There were times that Sasuke wondered what misdeed he had committed in his previous life that the kami had saddled him with this onerous fate. It hadn't been too bad eight years ago, but since then, things had been going steadily down hill and whilst not all the problems of lay with the most recent generation of the illustrious Kuno family, certainly most of them did. Principal Kuno, whose given name had long been since forgotten by most people, Sasuke among them, wasn't all that bad. Sure he was a bit of otaku when it came to Hawaii and then there was that short hair fetish, but unless you were a hair follicle, he was just a harmless kook. A bit misguided maybe, but generally well meaning. But his children were in another league all together.

Kuno Tatewaki, formerly 'The Blue Thunder of Furinkan' and now the self styled 'Blue Thunder of Nerima,' had once been described as the poster child for delusional stupidity and that was pretty much accurate. He refused to even believe the possibility that Tendo Akane and his precious Osage-no-Onna did not return his affections. He was also completely blind to the fact that Osage-no-Onna and Saotome Ranma were one and the same, despite viewing the transformation on multiple occasions and that was something Sasuke just did not understand. How could one believe in the possibility of dark sorcerers, yet refuse to believe in the possibility of mystical curses that have been repeatedly demonstrated Sasuke did not know. The situation had gotten even worse once both Ranma and Akane had disappeared. Tatewaki had immediately dispatched hordes of private investigators to locate 'the foul magus Saotome and the beauteous maids he has stolen away.' A noble samurai such as himself was of course above such matters as searching, even for the women he was supposed to love. Though of course he and he alone would be the one to perform the heroic rescue. Eight years of no results though had made the kendoist extremely touchy about any matter related to the search and unless one watched what they said, he could be hell to deal with.

Whatever his faults though, Tatewaki didn't have a patch on Kodachi. The Black Rose was smarter than her brother; that no one could dispute, though that wasn't that hard. But was also undeniable was that she was completely off her rocker, a few cards short of a deck and any other euphemism for crazy that one cared to think of. Eventually she had gotten so bad that the authorities demanded that she receive psychiatric attention. The psychiatrist had prescribed a mind boggling amount of medication to help deal with Kodachi's various problems, but that had posed a problem. Kodachi's experiments in pharmacology, including psychotropic agents, had given her an impressive tolerance to the effects of her medication and eventually the doctors had no choice but to use even stronger drugs and most of them at the maximum safe levels a human could tolerate. This of course had meant that she was no longer competent to care for herself and she needed twenty-four hour supervision.

This brought in the third main problem in the household in the form of Kawami Kyoko. She had originally been hired as a full time nurse to take care of Kodachi, but she had become the proverbial straw that broke the donkey's back for most of the staff. One of the groundsmen, the poor soul who had been the one forced to deal with Midorigame, had spent some time in America when he had served with the SSDF and had encountered a word that described Kawami Kyoko perfectly. Gold-digger. Once she had become aware of the wealth her new employers possessed, she had become less concerned about her charge and more concerned with wheedling her way into Tatewaki's bed. She had played to his delusions masterfully, somehow getting closer to him while still encouraging his ideas about Akane and Ranma's female form. She had also become hell personified to the staff, lording it over them like she was already mistress of the household, which she was in effect if not in name. All of them had quit in protest, leaving only Sasuke, who stayed only because his family had always been retainers to the Kuno's, supported only by occasional help that came once a week, at most. That still left Sasuke to do all the day to day work around the house, including the bulk of the work in dealing with Kodachi and he was beginning to feel like he was wearing thin.

He was startled by a noise in the rafters above him and before he could react, Happosai dropped to the floor in front of him. Even though he was a ninja by training, Sasuke was terrified of Happosai. The Anything Goes School's founding master could dismantle him without breaking a sweat and they both knew it. He had also provided Sasuke with much needed funds on several occasions with the promise of favours in return and it looked like he was going to call one in. Sasuke just prayed to whoever might be listening that this would not be too bad.

"Sasuke my old friend," Happosai said with a grin as the ninja put down the laundry basket. "I have something that needs to be done, but unfortunately I'm afraid that I can't actually perform this task myself. So I thought to myself, 'Happi old boy, who's the best person you know to get this job done?' Then is suddenly strikes me that my old friend Sasuke is just perfect for the job. So what do you say?"

Sasuke fought down a sigh. "What do you need me to do?" he asked and try as he might, he couldn't keep some of the world weariness from his voice.

"Oh, nothing too difficult. You won't even have to leave the house. All I need you to do is tell that boken waving fool who employs you that Tendo Akane is back in town. And so is Saotome Ranma."

Sasuke gulped and broke out into a cold sweat. This was bad. This was very, very bad. This went beyond even spectacularly, awesomely bad. Sasuke suspected before this was over, he was going to need a very long vacation, as far away from Nerima as was humanly possible. The Falkland Islands sounded nice. "Is that all?" he asked.

"Oh, and if you could happen to mention that they should both be at the Tendo Dojo at the moment, I'd be much obliged."

"Very well," Sasuke said, pushing the laundry to one side so it wouldn't get in the way. He shuddered as heard Happosai cackling to himself as he disappeared back into the rafters. Sasuke headed in the opposite direction, down the stairs, to the main quarters of the house. At this time of day, Tatewaki was always in the sun room, irregardless of the weather, composing haikus, almost invariably execrable and egotistical. Kyoko might be with him, she might not, it depended on her mood, but it was not Sasuke's lucky day, for she was in the sun room as well, idly going through the motions of flower arranging, not putting any real effort into it.

"What, pray tell, is of such grave importance that you must interrupt my artistic genius Sasuke?" Kuno asked without even looking up from the parchment he was working on.

"Forgive me master," Sasuke said, bowing, "but I have just received important news that I thought it best to inform you of right away."

"And what may that be?" Kuno inquired further, still not looking up, though Kyoko was no longer even pretending to pay any attention to her flowers and had skewered Sasuke with a glare that would have reduced Sasuke to a pile of ash if such a thing were possible.

"Master, I have just received word from a reliable source that Tendo Akane has returned to the Tendo Dojo."

Kuno's attention was instantly fixed on his servant as he leapt to his feet and spread his arms joyfully. "This indeed wondrous news Sasuke. That now two of my three beauteous loves may now enjoy my fulsome attentions. Even more wondrous is that the foul Saotome no longer holds an innocent maid in his clutches."

"I'm afraid that might not be the case Master," Sasuke said, cowering. "The same source also informed me that she was accompanied by Saotome Ranma." Actually Happosai hadn't even implied that, but that was the conclusion that Kuno would have jumped to anyway, so Sasuke felt no guilt for that minor twisting of the truth.

Right on cue, Kuno's face darkened and his whole body shook with barely suppressed rage. "That fiend!" he growled in a voice like rending metal. "No doubt he still holds Osage-no-Onna in his thrall as well! No more! Not for one day longer shall he spread his foul taint! By all the honour of the house of Kuno, I swear that he shall not live to see another dawn! The Tendo Dojo you say?"

"According to my source, yes."

Kuno didn't even pause to make another announcement, he merely snatched up his weapon, making Sasuke quail when he realised it was not a boken but the family katana, and stalked out of the room, leaving only silence behind him. Both Sasuke and Kyoko remained motionless; feeling like they had just been run over by a freight train and then the silence was shattered by a sound that chilled the hearts of brave men and women. The sound of Kodachi's laughter.

Kyoko shuddered for a moment at the sound and then rounded on Sasuke as it faded into the distance. "You little fool!" she hissed at him. "You were supposed to keep that crazy bitch locked away and doped to the gills! How could you forget to give her the damn medication?"

That was it. It was just one thing too many things gone wrong in Sasuke's life and he snapped. "Madam my I remind you that it is not my responsibility to care for Mistress Kodachi but yours! Furthermore, you are not yet mistress of this household, despite what you seem to think. And may I congratulate you on successfully alienating the entire staff of this household into resigning their positions! It is only family loyalty that kept me on here and you have now eroded the last of it. Fortunately neither you nor Master Tatewaki are my actual employers and if the Hawaiians can live with pineapples and coconuts, then so can I! And with that, Madam, I bid you good day!" That said, Sasuke turned and stalked out of the room. The sooner he left the better and for all his eccentricities, including having an apartment nearer the school made up like an idealised grass shack, the Principal was far easier to live with. And after a few weeks, maybe Sasuke could see about that vacation. If Hawaii wasn't as far from Japan as the Falkland Islands, it was at least safely way out in the middle of the Pacific, well away from the chaos that was about to engulf Nerima.

Saotome Nodoka paused a moment in her walk to the Tendo Dojo to retrieve a handkerchief and to blot the sweat on her forehead. The heat wave of the previous few days seemed to have broken but it was still quite warm and the multiple layers of Nodoka's kimono were not the coolest garments in the world. She was on her way to the Tendo Dojo to meet with Kasumi for their weekly get together. Despite the differences in their ages, the two women had become fast friends over the years and her regular visits to the Tendo Dojo were the high points in Nodoka's week. As well as meeting with Kasumi it gave Nodoka a chance to meet Kazuma, who had become almost a surrogate grandson for her. Kazuma, while not lacking in love from both of his parents was short of grandparents, with Soun's wife, a good friend of Nodoka's having passed away many years ago and most of the Ono family either living up north in Hokkaido or down south in Kyushu. So Nodoka had become the closest thing Kazuma had to a grandmother, just as he was likely to be the closest Nodoka would have to her own grandchild.

She sighed at that thought. Even as she had watched her son's life descend further and further into chaos, she had also seen how Ranma and Akane had become closer after the failed wedding, even if both of them were two stubborn to say it out right. Nodoka had been about to offer then the use of her family's holiday home just outside Sapporo to give them some time to themselves when they had disappeared and for that she always felt guilty. Part of the guilt was because she had made the offer sooner, before things had gotten so bad that the pair felt that they were unable to endure it anymore thy might not have left, but the other part, the part that she had not confessed to anybody, was that she had been partly responsible for her son's departure.

She had come to the conclusion a long time ago that the seppuku pledge had been a mistake. She had never had any intention of actually forcing her husband to commit seppuku, but she knew full well that Genma needed the right incentive to do anything, even his fatherly duties, and that a direct threat to his skin was one of the few things that would get his attention. What she had not expected was that, in a rare display of mental agility, Genma would actually persuade her to include Ranma in the contract as well, obviously hoping that maternal instincts to keep her son safe would make her judge less harshly. By the time Nodoka had recovered from the shock of the Genma's argument the pair were already gone. Over the next ten years there were many times when she cursed herself for being talked into including Ranma in the contract. She also cursed her rogue of a husband for he had left her with the impression that while he and Ranma would be gone most of the time, that they would visit at least every couple of months, not disappearing completely for ten years.

Then they had returned, though Nodoka was apparently the last to know about it, her husband's miserly habits and her own foolishness forcing both Genma and Ranma to hide behind their curses whenever she visited. It was for that reason that Nodoka felt guilty. Deep inside she felt that her son feared her, feared that she would make him commit seppuku for suffering from a curse that made him in the eyes of many, including his own, as less than a man amongst men. She wished she had made it clearer that, curse or no curse; she had no intention of invoking that contract. But her own upbringing, stressing family honour above all else, had made her incapable of even doing that and before she had had a chance to set things right, Ranma was gone again. It had been eight years since she had seen her son and every day in that time weighed heavily on her heart.

Her feet, familiar with the path from the Saotome family home to the Tendo dojo, were capable of guiding Nodoka to her destination with no aid from her conscious mind, so when the Saotome matriarch broke herself out of her morose chain of thought and looked up, she was surprised to find that she was about to round the final corner of her route. As she did, she noted the figure coming down the road but she paid it little heed, though a tiny corner of her mind noted that the red and black clothing seemed familiar. She walked up to the Tendo's door and was about to knock when she heard a voice call out that made her heart leap into her throat as she turned toward the source. She couldn't help it as her hands flew to her mouth, the family katana, fortunately protected in its cloth wrappings, falling to the ground. Then she was being embraced fiercely as her vision clouded from tears.

Her son was back. Her son was back. That was all that Nodoka could think, higher thought over ridden by a wild swirl of emotion that rode through a great up swell of joy. Eventually she broke away from her son's embrace and held him at arm's length, looking at him. He was much as she remembered, a little taller, a little leaner and something about his face was indefinably older, but there was no doubt that this was the son she had waited so long to see. "Are you really back?" she whispered, half out lord, half to herself, speaking the first words that sprang into her mind.

"I'm really back," Ranma said, an uncontrollable grin on his face. "For good this time. I'm home."

Nodoka felt the tears welling up in her eyes again and she pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve to blot at them. "I was afraid that when you left, I'd never see you again," she said hoarsely. Then she spoke the words she had carried in her heart for the last eight years. "I was afraid that you would never want to see me again."

That caused Ranma's grin to slip a little and he embraced his mother once again. "I never meant to hurt you," he said, his voice hoarse. "I didn't leave because of you. I left for a lot of reasons, but never because of you. Please believe me when I say that."

The emotion in Ranma's voice was so raw when he spoke that Nodoka almost burst into tears again, but was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Mother and son turned to see Ukyo standing in the doorway. "Kasumi told me that you'd be along soon Saotome-san and she said you and Ranma might prefer to have your reunion a little less public."

"I think you're just a little late Ukyo," Akane said from where she was perched on the stone wall, silent until then.

Ukyo shrugged and Nodoka smiled through her tears as she though at how ecstatic Soun must be to have his youngest daughter back, just as she was overjoyed at having her son back. "I think I will come in," she said. "Ranma," she said, but the pig-tailed man was distracted.

"I'll be just a moment," he said, looking off into the distance. "Something's coming that I have to take care of first."

Akane looked up, her own danger sense reacting to the incoming threat. There was a familiar feel to what she was feeling and her lip curled up in a sneer as she realised who was on his way. "Kuno," she said, turning the name into an insult.

Ranma just nodded. "Kaa-san, if you'd go inside, I'll be in a moment. This shouldn't take long."

"I think I will stay here," she said firmly, causing all three martial artists to look sharply at her.

"Saotome-san, I think it would be better if you went in," Ukyo said. "I've never had to deal with him directly, but Kuno's a total fruit loop and there's no telling what he might do."

"I will stay here," Nodoka said. "I wish to see how my son handles this challenger. I will not abandon him when he faces a challenge."

Ranma was touched by his mother's concern, but he was more concerned about her safety. "Thanks for the support, but this isn't a challenge," he said in his most casual tone of voice. "It's just Kuno. I can take him no problem, but he tends to get a little a little wild when he's angry and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I think your mother just won the argument," Akane said, using her higher vantage point to scan the area. "He's here."

Sure enough a moment later Kuno came into view of those on the street later and Ranma's face settled into a calm mask, broken only by an insolent grin, as he fell into a ready stance. Kuno slowed in his approach once he came into view and everyone's eyes widened slightly when they saw that he was not carrying a boken but a naked katana, though much to Nodoka and Ukyo's surprise, this only made Ranma's grin wider. "SAOTOME!" Kuno roared as he approached, levelling the point of his katana at Ranma. "Eight years have I waited for this day and I shall not wait one moment later! I give you one final warning, release Tendo Akane and Osage-no-Onna from your thrall foul defiler of women and get back to the pit from whence thou came or as truly as the stars wheel in the sky above you will face the wrath of heaven."

"Same old Kuno," Akane sighed, shaking her head. "Still doesn't have clue."

"I'll tell you one last time Kuno, you're a deluded idiot!" Ranma shouted back. "I'm no sorcerer and your precious Osage-no-Onna is my Jusenkyo curse form."

"You still preach those lies! Have at you fiend!"

Kuno dashed forward and Ranma's grin grew more insolent as he watched the oncoming katana was levelled at his face. As always Kuno rushed forward into battle without even a hint of subtlety or caution and he also once again proved for all his claims that he would defeat Ranma, he didn't know how to use the katana in his hands like the deadly weapon it was. If he had been really serious, the point of the blade would have been levelled at Ranma's throat rather than his head, for though the target was smaller, it was far more vulnerable than the bone armoured head and while if you were strong enough it was possible to drive a katana through bone, it was more likely to skip off. So Ranma merely watched before moving at the last possible moment, his speed blinding but still managing to make the whole thing look lazy and casual.

Kuno skidded to a halt and spun around to face a still grinning Ranma and then smirked as Nodoka gasped when both realised that it had not been a clean a miss as it had first appeared. A long, thin cut ran along Ranma's right cheek. It wasn't serious but it was bleeding rather profusely as head wounds were wont to do. "So foul sorcerer this indeed the day you meet your end!" Kuno declared, raising his sword to the heavens. "Time has made the Blue Thunder swifter and stronger than since last we fought. The heavens will indeed have their vengeance this day."

Ranma just snorted as Kuno prepared himself for another charge. "You're just as slow and just as dumb as you were eight years ago," he retorted. "I wanted you to cut me and I'll show you why." With that he wiped the blood staining his cheek off with his thumb, the ruby red droplets glistening on skin before suddenly blazing forth with an inner light. With a casual motion Ranma flicked the glowing blood of his thumb and right at the blade of Kuno's katana while under his breath he whispered the words, "Blood Shot."

The effect of ki charged blood meeting steel blade was immediate and obvious. A red glow surrounded the blade, dancing up and down the length of the weapon, reflecting off the ripple pattern in the steel that had been folded and folded again to make it strong. But all that strength was for nought against the onslaught it was facing as the blood droplets appeared to act like a strange form of acid, eating a hole through where they first landed and leaving behind a rain of carbonised iron fillings that fell to the ground, followed shortly by a steely clatter when the hole grew large enough that the front third of the blade was no longer connected to the rest and fell, still dissolving. Kuno stared down at his now useless weapon as the corruption continued to eat its way down the blade and into the hilt, eventually leaving only the wood and enamel.

When he finally looked up, the expression on his face was an odd mixture of righteous fury and utter fear. "What foul sorcery is this?" he demanded in a strangled voice.

"No sorcery," Ranma said calmly, grinning. "Just using the chemical affinity of the iron in my blood to the iron in your sword to carry a ki charge that I then used to render your sword to so much dust. Now are we going to fight or are you going to stand there all day looking like something I'd buy at the fish markets."

Ukyo and Akane nodded, both impressed and both wondering what they would have to bribe Ranma with to get him to teach them that move while Nodoka was all but jumping up and down and squealing like a teenager, just about to ready to burst with pride at her son's accomplishment. The air of complacent victory surrounding Ranma was quite rapidly shattered by a sound that caused shivers down the spine and both Ranma and Akane snarled under their breaths, "Kodachi!"

Ukyo looked up and saw the demented gymnast approaching and unlimbered her battle spatula, but was interrupted by Akane. "I'll take care of this Ukyo," the youngest Tendo said, her face set in an iron mask of determination. "This bitch and I have a score to settle and I wouldn't want to disappoint her."

With that Akane leapt to meet the younger Kuno, vaguely aware at the same time Kodachi's brother was charging Ranma with his bare hands. She knew that Ranma was more than capable of dealing with an unarmed Kuno, even on his worst day, so she focused all her attention her own target. Both of them landed on the roof of the Tendo house at almost the exact same time and paused for a moment. Kodachi stood up straight and said in a voice that was even crazier than Akane remembered, "So Tendo Akane you are foolish enough to return and face Kodachi no…"

The rest of Kodachi's speech was cut off by an incredibly powerful right hook connecting with her left cheek and she sprawled backwards and came close to falling off the roof. Akane just stood over her down opponent with a look of grim satisfaction on her face. Though she hadn't bothered to use her ki to boost the power of her punch, Akane definitely felt bone break under her fist and she didn't regret it in the least. None of Ranma's 'official' fiancées had made any bones about their dislike of Kuno Kodachi, but ever since the failed wedding, the feuding between Akane and Kodachi had grown even worse, but Akane refused to talk about what happened to make her so despise the gymnast. But for eight long years Akane had been waiting for another crack at Kodachi and she was surprised to find the victory feeling so hollow. She knew that when she was unable to use any of her trick gymnastic tools, Kodachi was a rather poor opponent, but she had expected to feel something more than what she did.

Of course that was before Kodachi pulled herself back to her feet and stood again, ready to fight. "Is that all you can do?" she asked, her voice not even touched by the pain her broken cheek would be causing her.

Then Akane realised that the reason Kodachi acted like she wasn't in pain was because she wasn't. The strange glimmer in her eyes wasn't just because she was insane; it was because she was so doped to the gills that the pain signals her body was sending just weren't getting through. This caused Akane to swear under her breath, because she knew what drugged fighters could do, especially ones as drugged as Kodachi appeared to be. Without pain signals to let them know that their bodies were reaching their limits or that they were injured, they fought with near superhuman strength and a complete disregard for injuries, even those that would leave them crippled for life.

Of course Akane was not without resources of her own and she began channelling ki into her limbs as she fell into a ready stance, waiting for Kodachi to make the first move. She was surprised when Kodachi actually pulled a gymnastics ribbon out from behind her back, but not so surprised that she was unable to dodge it. With speed that would have stunned Kodachi had her thought processes not been clouded by the medication still in her system, Akane stepped inside the other woman's defences, taking advantage of the fact that Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnasts aren't trained to deal with direct physical attacks, and slammed her fist into Kodachi's diaphragm, perhaps a little harder than was absolutely necessary.

Drugs or no drugs, the abused muscle shuddered from the impact and ceased to function properly for several moments, forcing Kodachi to furiously try and suck enough breath into her lungs that just refused to work properly. Akane took to opportunity to pulp the lower half of Kodachi's nose with her knee, making it just that much harder for the other woman to regain her breath. At that point there was absolutely no way that Kodachi could have put up an effective defence or even try and stop Akane as the shorter woman wrapped her hands around her throat and applied a very precise amount of pressure to the carotid arteries and held it until Kodachi fell over, completely unconscious, though Akane kicked her in the temple just to be sure, though it was probably unnecessary. Not matter what has been done to them, cut off the blood supply to the brain and eventually anyone will pass out.

Fight finished, Akane slung Kodachi over one shoulder and hopped down to ground level to see how Ranma was faring with the other Kuno. Ranma being Ranma the fight was not yet over, though the outcome was a forgone conclusion to even the most unobservant bystander. If he had really wanted to, Ranma could have finished the fight in the first pass but he had just been itching to show off the Blood Shot and now he felt liking indulging himself. Kuno was currently sporting what was rapidly becoming an impressive black eye, had had his wrist sprained and his left leg rendered useless by a shiatsu strike. Seeing Akane return with an unconscious Kodachi though, he decided that it was about time to finish the fight. He ducked under a clumsy swipe by Kuno and unleashed two Amiguriken speed punched that stopped just short of the kendoist but still managed to break his floating ribs from their shockwave alone and unlike his sister, Kuno was quite capable of feeling pain and yelled. His cry was short lived though as the point of Ranma's foot caught him on the soft spot under his lower jaw to slam his mouth shut and send him flying backwards and land with sufficient force to knock him out.

"And that is how you put a Kuno out of commision," Ranam said with a mock bow to his audience, earning amused applause from Ukyo. "And hopefully keep him out of commision for a while with those ribs," he added.

"Very impressive my son," Nodoka said, beaming. "But I must ask what you intend to do with him now. It would be dishonourable to simply leave a fallen opponent out in the street where there is no one to attend to him."

Ranma scratched his head in thought at that. "Well I used to just leave him where he fell, but that was at school and everyone knew better than to do anything to him. But I'm not taking him inside. He'll just wake up and make a mess."

"Why not take him to Tofu's clinic," Akane suggested. "That's where I'm taking Kodachi."

"I believe I shall accompany you as well," Nodoka said and then turned to Ukyo. "Kuonji-san, would you please be so kind as to inform Kasmui that I may be a little late."

"I'm sure she'll understand," Ukyo said with a smile. "We all have a lot of catching up to do, but you deserve to spend some time with your son Saotome-san." She dissapaeared back inside, leaving Nodoka, Ranma and Akane alone with the unconscious Kuno siblings.

"Doc Tofu's place still where it used to be?" Ranma asked as he slung Kuno over his shoulders, barely seeming to notice the kendoist's weight even if the other man did outmass him by a few kilos.

"He is," Nodoka confirmed, "Though he has expanded into the building next door as well for some extra room.

"Well let's get going then," he said. "The sooner we get rid of these two the happier I'll be."

"Here, here!" Akane agreed, dropping down to the road. "If you would care to lead the way Nodoka-obasan."

"Of coure Akane-chan," Nodoka said.

The three of them set off, Akane hanging slightly behind, just enough to give mother and some sembelance of privacy, though she could still hear what they said clearly enough. She grinned as she heard some of the tales Ranma was telling, for though they were obviously edited so as not to make Nodoka too nervous about what her son had been up to, they were still what she expected of Ranma, mainly strange, wonderous and out on the edge. What really caught Akane's attention though was though was when a water balloon came sailing over the fence of one of the houses they were walking past, it landed right on Ranma and in the blink of an eye, he became a she.

"Gah!" Ranma said, shaking the water out of her hair. "I hate that! I've said it before and I'll say it again, probably for the rest of my life, but if there's any free water within a kilometer, it finds some way to hit me."

"So you are still cursed my son?" Nodoka asked. "I thought that part of the reason you left was to find a cure for your curse?"

"Not really," Ranma said with a shake of her head. "It was sort of in the back of my mind, but there had been too many false leads and wild goose chases the first couple of years and there were other things that I wanted to take care of first. After a while it sort of just stopped becoming an issue." She lowered her eyes and looked at the ground, scuffing the ground uncertainly while mumbling something that was almost inaudible.

"Come again?" Akane asked, drawing level with mother and son turned daughter.

"I said," Ranma said, blushing right to the tips of her ears so that they almost matched her hair, "that I probably wouldn't take a cure now if you gift wrapped it for me."

Akane looked at her in surprise. The Ranma she knew of old had come to terms with his curse to a degree, certainly and was not above using for an advantage on occasion, but even after ten years of living with it, she had never expected Saotome Ranma to ever reject a cure and mean it, even hypothetically.

Nodoka on the other hand didn't even bat an eyelid. She simply laid a hand on the shoulder that did not have an unconscious Kuno draped over it and smiled softly. "That is a choice that only you can make my… child. I cannot say that I would make the same one were I in your place nor can I say that there will not be those who may hold that choice against you, but it is your life and no one can make your decisions for you. All I can say is that those who truly care for you will stand by you no matter what."

Ranma ducked her head again, but this time Akane could tell it was to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. Saving the pig-tailed martial artist further awkwardness and surpressing her own mixed reaction to what she had just heard, she piped up. "She's right Ranma, but can we save the mushy stuff for _after_ we get rid of a certain pair of idiots."

Ranma perked up at that and nodded, blinking away unshed tears. "Okay," she said, sniffing just a bit.

The trio walked on in slightly awkward silence for several moments before Akane by mentioning one of her odder occurences on her travels involving a supposedly valuable exotic plant, a pair of deranged botatanists and for reasons she still couldn't really fathom a New York City parking inspector. Ranma being Ranma had to top it with one involving a drunk kangaroo escaped from the Moscow Zoo, a motorised scooter and a morbid Native American ghost. Akane wasn't going to let that stand of course and by the time they reached the clinic it Nodoka almost couldn't walk she was laughing so hard. Clutching her stomach and gasping for breath between bouts of laughter she waved Akane and Ranma into the clinic while she remained outside, leaning against the wall and trying to catch her breath.

Still grinning Akane led the way, edging awkwardly around the door to get Kodachi in as well. Ranma got around that problem simply by lifting Kuo so that he was directly over her head. Once in they both looked around the office which was much the same as they remembered it, though the paint had been freshened up some time in the intervening eight years and the carpet replaced with one that was nearly identical in design. Most of the remodelling that had gone on when the premises had expanded had occurred out of sight leaving both Ranma and Akane with a slight sense of déjà vu.

Tofu having heard the front door open emerged from the back room and put his hands on his hips when he saw what awaited him. "Not even back forty-eight hours and already back to bad habits," he said with mock discouragement.

"They started it," Ranma and Akane said in unison..

"Well that's all right then," Tofu said, grinning. "Put them in the examination rooms and I'll send them home when they wake up. I'd try and talk some sense into them but I've seen Kodachi-san's prescription so I doubt much of anything ever gets through to her and Tatewaki-san, well…" he shrugged helplessly.

"He's an idiot," Ranma said, squeezing past him. "Always was, always will be. Though while he's out you might want to tape up his ribs. I busted at least two of them. I don't think its anything serious but he's not going to be waving a boken around much for a few weeks."

This time Tofu frowned in earnest. "Ranma you should be more careful about that. Broken ribs are not an injury to be taken lightly if only because they can puncture a long."

"He was being careful," Akane said. "If he'd wanted to he could have shattered Kuno's ribcage."

Tofu just shook his head and muttered something under his breath about the recklessness of martial artists.

Just grinned and walked past him as well, depositing Kodachi in one of the several new examining rooms. When she came out she found Tofu staring down the corridor with a worried look on his face. Turning in the direction her brother-in-law was looking Akane's heart lept into her throat and she froze as well. Ranma had emerged from the room he had deposited Kuno in and was staring at thr fourth person in the corridor who had also emerged from one of the other rooms. Clutching his mop and bucket Saotome Genma stared back at his son slack jawed surprise as the two onlookers wondered just what was about to happen next.

Author's Notes:

Yay! After I forget how long chapter three is finally done. My apologies to all of you who have been waiting so long but this chapter simply did not want to end! As before I will try and get chapter four out sooner but I make no promised and nor should you get your hopes up. Thank you for all the C&C that also let me know people are still reading this story and helped me keep going and finally get this chapter finished.

Next time we take a little break from a certain aquatransexual martial artist to see what the rest of the Wrecking Crew is doing as they start to try and settle back into Nerima.


End file.
